The Erinyes
by BlazingFate
Summary: Sora is the girl known by everyone and no one. Corey is the girl everyone thinks they understand. And Avy is the girl of nightmares and shadows. Together, they are misfits living in a world on fire. Set eight years before Sophie Foster entered the Lost Cities, this is the story of three girls who each played a game-changing role in creating the spark before the blaze.
1. Chapter 1

**SYNOPSIS**

 _She is the girl known by everyone and no one._

Sora Heks is a prodigy at Foxfire Academy who frequently gets picked on for her strange behaviour, but she's more than anyone thinks she is. Besides being a messenger for the clandestine organisation, the Black Swan, Sora's unique, unexplainable mind is what made Project Moonlark happen — but that is the least of her concern when something unexpected happens and gets her banished from the Lost Cities and into the dangerous unknown of the Neutral Territories. Luckily, she's not alone. Closely accompanied by her brother Soreas, Sora sets off to attend Exillium, where past, present, and future all entwine together to change everything she's ever known.

 _She is the girl everyone thinks they understand._

Everyone thinks they know who Cordelia Malum is. Cheerful, and always up for some fun, Corey is always that friend who you could trust with almost anything. Or so they think. When her parents were murdered by the Neverseen almost nine years ago, Cordelia has not stopped in her quest to seek revenge. Along with her powerful telepathic ability, she's the perfect spy for the Black Swan. But she's about to find out, that sometimes, it's not that bad, letting someone in. After all, what was that human saying again? Ah, "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

 _She is the girl of nightmares and shadows._

Avyela Ellis. In the Lost Cities, she's known as the one who started 'The Nightmare', a night of pain, blood, and nightmares. In the eyes of her organization, she is one of the most suitable for violent spy missions. And to other Shades, she's the girl who managed to find a way to manipulate something more than just shadows, the girl who had been out of control before she even manifested. Banished at the mere age of six, Avy finds herself being the longest standing Wayward, having reached her eighth year a few months ago. But as plans are made and changed, Avy knows that the time for fun is coming nearer, especially when a mysterious girl appears in the light.

 _They are misfits living in a world on fire._

When the three of them inevitably meet out of fate, they're about to find themselves in a world where they couldn't believe they have been living in for their whole lives. Every step further into their world's underbelly makes them realise how far each organisation is willing to go. Every scheme they uncover turns into a whole other timeline they have to stop before it's too late. But it turns out each of them have something they wish to hide in the deepest, darkest parts of their souls, and no one knows how far one another is willing to go to protect the things they love the most. Will they be able to withstand the consequences of knowing?

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER**

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Shannon Whitney Messenger. The line in the synopsis " _They are misfits living in a world on fire"_ is adapted from the pop song "People Like Us", performed by Kelly Brianne Clarkson, written by Meghan Kabir, James Michael, Blair Daly, and produced by Greg Kurstin. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors of this fanfiction. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE**

 _She is the girl known by everyone and no one._

Sora Heks could feel the stares.

She could feel the stares boring into her back as she hurried through the halls of the Golden Tower as the whispers hissed in her ears.

She squeezed her eyes shut, but they flew wide open again when she bumped arms with a girl. Yelping, she stumbled back a few steps, almost bulldozing into someone behind. Sora muttered a short word of apology and veered past the girl, continuing to rush past everyone with lightning speed.

The whispers grew louder and louder, reaching to the point that they were as clear as day.

They were nothing but rumours. The rumours would always get around, spreading faster than even Everblaze— but no one dared to say that word out loud. They were childish and immature but somehow always hit her harder than she'd expected.

The scroll tucked away carefully in her cape pocket threatened to fall out, but she could not do anything that would make her look conspicuous-not that she was not already. But she did not think anyone would be able to guess what she was actually doing.

Sora skidded past another fellow Level Seven and took off running again. She heard somebody call her name in the distance behind, but she did not bother to look back. She was already running late, and time waited for no elf.

"Miss Heks!" A loud, booming voice reverberated through the halls, making Sora jump as she pulled to an abrupt stop. She pressed a hand to the lockers beside her, struggling to catch her breath as she slowly raised her eyes to lock gazes with none other than the Beacon of the Golden Tower. Her heart sank, and she resisted the urge to fish in her cape pocket to make sure that the scroll had not dropped out.

Master Theta's glare was even more skewering than the stares and whispers that Sora usually would receive. This time, it was her turn to stumble back a few steps. A few prodigies hung by the sidelines, watching the two of them with wide, frightened eyes, but no one dared to step out and stand up for her.

Sora was not offended or even surprised. After all, no one ever did anything heroic for her.

"No running in school premises," Master Theta said sternly, her eyebrows furrowed together fiercely and her hands on her hips.

Sora bowed her head as if bathing in her own shame, but inwardly she was scheming how she would get away from this difficult compromise. "I-I'm truly sorry, Master Theta," said Sora, making her voice wobble to make it seem realer than it was. "I-I really didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

Master Theta opened her mouth like she wanted to say something else, but changed her mind after a moment and nodded her head. "Just don't do it again, Miss Heks. And detention for you tomorrow. Do not forget."

Sora inclined her head deeply, and before Master Theta could call her out again, she brisk-walked away from the humiliating scene.

The crowd cleared and she heaved a sigh of relief, risking a split second to pat her pocket to ensure that the scroll was still there even after all the chaos.

She then allowed herself a little victorious smile, before sprinting off to the Leapmaster.

"Hey, Soreas!" she shouted over the noise of the crowd queuing to get onto the Leapmaster. Everyone's heads turned over to stare at her, but she flipped her hair at them and smiled slyly at the boy who was already second in line. "Mind if I cut?"

The redheaded boy glanced sideways at her, before gesturing at her to come to his side. Sora walked past the line of glaring prodigies and sidled up to him. He gave her a knowing look with those pale aquamarine eyes of his.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You're running late," Soreas stated simply in Japanese, making her flush in both embarrassment and anger. "You need to hurry over there, and fast. What in Eternalia took you so long?"

"Theta," said Sora simply in the same language, drawing out each syllable like a lazy breeze blowing at their stray hairs. "And we're not in Eternalia. I'm lucky she wasn't in her usual dramatic mood today. I remember what happened last time. It was the _worst_ -"

She was cut off abruptly when Soreas shoved her towards the platform of the Leapmaster. Sora gasped in shock as she flailed her limbs, trying to find a steady stand.

"Good luck," was all her brother said.

Sora got a grip of herself and the railing as she shouted, "Moonglade!"

* * *

When Sora materialised on the rocky grounds of Moonglade, a familiar-looking man was already waiting for her, his arms crossed against his chest.

Sora barely remembered to reach into her Foxfire satchel and take out a long, dark cloak, wrapping it against her figure and pulling up the hood to cast her face in shadow. If anyone who happened to come to Moonglade at this timing noticed the two mysterious people doing conspicuous things, they would have been alerted. And nobody in the Black Swan wanted that to happen.

"You're late," he said simply, his beady blue eyes fixed on her form as she approached. Sora gave him a look, but did not say anything to protest otherwise as she took the bound scroll out of her pocket and held it out for him to take.

"I apologize. I had a slight delay," she explained. "Master Theta doesn't seem to like me very much."

His lips twisted into an amused smile as he took the scroll away from her carefully. "Maybe you'll have an easier time after I become Beacon."

She tried to stifle her snort as she rolled her eyes at him. "Like _that's ever_ going to happen. That aside… are you faring well over there? I heard she manifested her first ever ability. How did she react?"

"Do you really need to know?"

"Yes, because I _care._ And are you forgetting that I played a big part in Project Moonlark?" The words slipped her mouth before her mind could filter them.

Once her words settled in, her eyes widened and she bit the inside of her cheek nervously, wanting to watch his reaction but not daring to meet his eyes either.

When he did not say anything for another five seconds, Sora mustered up the courage to open her mouth again. "Forgive me, but I wish to know. We're all in the same team after all. If there's anything I can do to help…" Her voice trailed off as she raised her head to look at him with the best pleading expression she could manage.

The man who went by the pseudonym Mr. Forkle heaved a big sigh. Sora looked at him expectantly but all he did was untie the ribbon and unfurl the scroll. Sora gritted her teeth in impatience as his eyes scanned the contents of the scroll slowly, keeping his face expressionless.

After what seemed like an eternity, Mr. Forkle rolled up the scroll again and said, "All is well over at the Forbidden Cities. Miss Foster is fine."

"That's too…' Sora hesitated before continuing, "Well… that's too… vague."

His eyes softened for a rare moment. "In the words of Alden Vacker, there is no reason to worry, Miss Heks. Rest assured."

"You will update me immediately if there's anything amiss, right?" asked Sora anxiously, glancing back instinctively to check if the coast was clear.

"You have my word," Mr. Forkle replied, turning his head to gaze at the horizon.

The sky was bathed in a pinkish orange light, and reflected into his eyes as he continued, "It's getting late. You should get home. Is Soreas well?"

"He's always well," Sora retorted, "because you don't give him anything to do."

Mr. Forkle's eyes did not falter as he continued staring into the distance, as if he was trying to think into the future. "His role will come, soon enough. But it's clear that you were meant to do greater things than him, Miss Heks."

"What do you mean?" asked Sora, frowning in confusion at his ambiguous words. "You're not a Descryer. And you're clearly not a Shade. I don't have to believe anything you say."

Either Mr. Forkle did not hear her, or he simply chose to ignore her as he stuffed the scroll in his pocket and handed her a temporary leaping crystal.

Sora stared at the light the transparent crystal reflected as it glimmered brightly in the setting sun. It was the eleventh time she had received an identical copy of a light path to her house, but she still had never gotten used to it.

"Go," Mr. Forkle ordered sternly. And when she did not move, he added, "Now!"

Sora said nothing more as she held the crystal to the sky and stepped into the light path that had been created. She swore she saw Mr. Forkle's expressionless facade crumble away, but she thought that it must have been just a hallucination due to the blinding light.

She glittered onto the cobblestone pathway of Mettle Manor and made her way calmly to the double doors of the mansion like nothing had happened. Because as far as most people thought, nothing happened.

Before she could knock, the doors swung wide open and Soreas peeked out at her, staring at her through his floppy red bangs.

"You're finally back," he said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her inside to the empty foyer. "That took longer than usual. I wonder why?"

"It's just _Mr. Forkle_ being Mr. Forkle," sighed Sora, pushing past her brother to race up the spiral staircase that led to their bedrooms, ripping off her dark cloak and stuffing it back into her satchel at the same time. "Sometimes I really don't understand him."

"Well, what can you expect? After all, he's just a weird part-time Mentor of the Universe. I mean, that's only one of his coverups, but I think that says it all already." The sound of Soreas's footsteps rang out in the empty space as he sped up to chase after his sister. "But seriously, what happened?"

" _Nothing_ happened, Soreas. That's the thing! He refuses to tell me anything about Project Moonlark. He seems to have forgotten who was the one who played a big part in creating her!" Sora's voice grew louder and louder by each word, showing her frustration. She struggled to catch her breath as she clambered up each arduous step. "He just thinks that he can rule over us just because he says ' _you kids.'"_

"I don't understand."

"I— I don't expect you to." Sora shooed Soreas away and raced into her bedroom, slamming the door shut and locking it twice. She sighed in relief, pressing her trembling form against the wall as she slid down to the tiled floor, feeling the coldness of the marble seep into her bones.

The bedroom was dimmed by the closed blinds, little light filtering in from the gaps. Sora reached down to untie the shoelaces on her boots with shaky hands, her mind too fogged to focus on anything more complicated. And yet, there was still space for memories to surface.

Her mind tried to push them down and make them sink to the bottom— where they ought to be— but they persisted, sending a flurry of motion images float across her eyes.

A girl bearing a striking resemblance to her, except for her dark aquamarine eyes— a stark contrast to Sora's pale ones. Her cheeky smile, stretching across her face. The loving way she looked at her twin as she reached out to pull her in a hug.

The fleeting look of fear on her face when Sora found her with a suspicious cloaked figure, and the anger flashing across her eyes when she was accused of being Beguiled.

 _But did you really mean it? Did you? Tell me the truth. Tell me the truth! Please!_

Sora clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and the pain of her fingernails cutting into her flesh brought her back to reality.

Dazed, she looked around bemusedly, before her gaze landed on her half-untied boots.

Suddenly feeling a wave of rage overwhelm her, Sora ripped off the boots from her feet and hurled them at the table lamp on the opposite side of the room. They hit their target perfectly, striking the lamp with blasting force and knocking it to the floor, shattering it into a million shards of crystal and glass.

The metallic toes of the boots shimmered in the dim light, making Sora shiver.

The excitement of the moment had faded away and Sora winced at the ugly state of her room. She realised she was shaking rigorously, and pulled her legs closer to her chest as she sat in the corner of her room, letting her tears flow out silently. Faintly, she could hear Soreas's frantic voice asking what had happened, and his never-relenting knocking on the mahogany door, but she ignored him as she hugged herself tighter until her nails turned pale.

She could feel a spark of a strange power light up her world of darkness, flickering in and out with the unsteady rhythm of her breathing. She tried to calm down, tried to get herself to rest her mind, but her emotions only grew more ragged with each second, and the unfamiliar energy sizzled stronger, making her toes and her fingertips buzz.

A strange gravity seemed to be rooting her to the floor of her bedroom and when she tried to walk, the downward force only got more intense.

Without warning, the marble floor she was standing on gave way beneath her feet and splintered into sharp, jagged rocks falling in time with her. Sora tried to scream, but the loud, explosive sound of the rocks crashing down took her voice away completely. She felt herself plummet down and down, the wind whooshing in her ears, and she realized what was going to happen too late. She screamed again, and closed her eyes, not wanting to look down.

Bracing herself for the impact, she counted the seconds to distract herself from her fear-

She bounced off something spherical and landed on a soft surface. With bleary eyes, she realized that she had landed on the living room sofa. It hurt when she tried to get up, but she resisted the agony as she cast a confused glance around her. A wind that had seemed to come out of nowhere whipped her hair into her face, and she pushed the annoying auburn strands out of her eyes, trying to get a sense of what had happened, and what still was happening.

"Sora!" someone screamed, piercing to her ears. Sora blinked in surprise as Soreas lunged toward her, dodging little pieces of plaster falling from above as he made his way over. "Are you alright?"

"What...just...happened?" Sora managed to croak out. Her eyes flickered over to Soreas's arm, where a large gash ran from his elbow to his wrist. "You're bleeding!"

"So are you." Soreas's voice was clearly shaking terribly as he pulled Sora to her feet. "Let's go find Mum and Dad. They might be trapped in the fallen debris. You-you can explain later."

"What-what if they…" Sora didn't dare to finish her sentence, in case saying it out loud would make it true. A sob bubbled up her throat and escaped her lips. The sound of her crying amongst all the ruins sounded foreign to her, but once the floodgates were open, there was no stopping the rest of the tears from falling out.

"Hey," whispered Soreas, taking her hand in his. "It's going to be okay. I promise."

"How-how do you know that?" said Sora, her voice growing louder and louder and more agitated by each second. "Why does everyone claim they know what'll happen? First Mr. Forkle, now you! Can you really say everything will be all right? When _I_ was the one who started all this?" She gestured wildly around the ruins around her. Her knees knocked into each other and she sank down to the floor, burying her face in her hands, her whole body shaking with each sob.

"Sora," Soreas tried desperately, "we still have to go and see if Mum and Dad are safe and sound. Let's go, please. I can cover us with my wind."

"Suit yourself. I'm _not_ going," said Sora, slapping his hand away. She was not sure if it was the ground or herself shaking as she raced past Soreas and out of the damaged doors. Outside, the dark night sky with its glittering stars taunted her every second as she watched her house tumble down and give way one by one.

 _What just happened? How did I cause our house to collapse? How did I cause the floor to tremble and splinter and give way? Did I manifest a new ability? What is it?_

Her mind ran through all the possible elvin special abilities that could have caused such a disaster, and the sickening realisation dawned on her. She looked down at her hands and gasped. Her fingertips were glowing with a strange yellowish light.

Her eyes roved over to the still-grassy pastures to her left, where a bed of morning glories hung dull and wilted over the night sky. These flowers only bloomed in the morning and the afternoon sun, where the light danced over them and made their curled petals unfurl.

Slowly, shakily, Sora made her way over to the bed of flowers and kneeled beside an unopened spiral bud of morning glory and caressed its petals with a gentleness she didn't know she had. She'd seen other people with this uncommon ability do the same— usually for entertainment, sometimes for display— but usually they were gnomes, the intelligent species who could make unbloomed flowers bloom like there was no tomorrow.

She watched in both amazement and disbelief as the unbloomed morning glory slowly stretched its petals outwards, unraveling into full bloom. The morning glory grew more radiant and brighter with each second of Sora's touch, until Sora broke away from the flower and backed up a few steps, her hands still on the grassy ground.

Sora realised her mistake too late, and she ripped her hands away from the grass and stood up on her bare feet. Making the morning glory bloom at night had been surprisingly therapeutic and calming, and she didn't think any more mini earthquakes would come her way. Not for tonight, anyway.

The grass she had touched with her hands had grew longer and more slender, and it was visibly fresher and more lucid than the rest of the grassy plains. Shakily, Sora released a breath she hadn't realise she'd been holding.

She was a _Terrakinetic._ Deemed to be one of the rarest, and most destructive talents an elf could have. She supposedly now had some control over one of the four elements, just like Soreas, who had control over the element of air. And she had zero understanding or knowledge about it, except that she'd just learnt that her hands brought life while her feet brought destruction.

She needed her boots more than ever, and she knew they would survive this tumbledown. They were made out of elliniaum, a material that was fireproof, lightning-proof, shockproof and stainless all in one.

She closed her eyes and turned away from the awe-filled sight, instead turning her attention back to the home she'd just destroyed and hoping and praying with all her heart that Soreas and her parents would be all right.

 _Coward coward coward. You're such a coward._

She might be spared from the sight of everything crashing down but the sound still rippled through her ears like a hypersonic soundwave and she could do nothing to stop it. She clamped her hands onto her ears, but even with the terrifying noise muffled, it was still bound to appear in her nightmares.

Despite her hypocrisy, she muttered under her breath, "Everything will be okay. _Everything will be okay."_

* * *

 **EDIT:**

 **Yvonne: Hey guys! We're currently doing some minor changes to the chapters, AND completely revamping chapter 3. Don't worry, nothing important has been changed, just mainly the style and adding some details. So...it'll be up in a week or two, so keep an eye out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

 _She is the girl of nightmares and shadows._

"Is that really all you've got?" Dark aquamarine eyes looked at the black haired girl challengingly as she dodged another one of her punches.

Narrowing her eyes at the auburn-haired girl, Avyela Ellis waited a few seconds to catch her off guard before she kicked her opponent's legs from her side, causing her to fall on the concrete training ground on where they were standing.

"That was dirty fighting," The auburn-haired girl complained, as she lay on the ground on her back.

 _Perfect chance for me to attack_ , Avy thought to herself, internally smirking.

"Well, get used to it already. We use dirty fighting here. You should know that better than anyone else here," she replied, utterly amused.

And as Avy knew she would, Jin rolled her eyes at her. She smirked down at her friend before opening her mouth, "Keep rolling those eyes of yours, maybe someday they'll drop out and we'd be able to see if you have a brain in there or not."

Her friend tried to glare at Avy, and yet her face betrayed her as she broke out into a wide grin. "You have got to stop saying that," she laughed.

Instead of replying, Avy decided to throw a punch at her opponent's stomach, hoping to catch her off guard once again.

However, before her fist could even come close, her rival grabbed her wrists and flipped the two girls over. In a flash, the tables were turned. Except this time, Avy's hand was locked in a position where her opponent could just break it, as if it were just a twig.

Her legs immobilized by her friend's weight, Avy sighed in defeat, mumbling under her breath, "Yield, I yield, you fat elf."

Her best friend laughed mockingly at her before getting up. "I'm not the best fighter here for no reason." She replied boastfully, ignoring Avy's pathetic insult.

"Jin..." Avy glared at her friend in a playful way, inwardly sighing at her arrogance at the same time. But it was true— Jin was the best female fighter among all of them, if not the best.

Jin just continued laughing and soon enough, both girls were filling the room with their laughter as they half-chatted and half-walked out of the training grounds. Halfway, Avy stopped, causing Jin to gradually slow down and turn back to look at her questioningly.

"That's enough for the hour. I'm seriously in need of some alone time," Avy said abruptly, throwing a sideway glance at Jin, who immediately sobered and nodded understandingly.

"Whatever you want, Avy," she said carelessly, but Avy could still see the concern in her eyes as she walked to the opposite direction from her. "See you tomorrow."

Avy was famous among the group for constantly distancing herself from everyone else to hide away somewhere private, which sometimes was her room. But today, Avy found herself wandering through the forest instead, towards her preferred hiding spot.

The sun was just about to set, the perfect time for her to clear her head of all her troubles before bed— not that she slept regularly anymore.

Finding a big tree with an even bigger shadow on the cliff most people did not know how to get to, she climbed up the tree and gingerly sat on one of the bigger branches. A thin twig snapped beside her, falling into the abysmal ravine below. She perked her ears up trying to catch the sound of the twig landing, but the pleasant sound of cicadas and crickets covered up the sickly noise.

"Just my type of peaceful place." Avy mumbled to herself as she leaned into the bark of the tree, something she was undoubtedly familiar with by now.

The setting sun was something she had always enjoyed watching— the end of a passing day, the start of another new night.

She let her hair out of her ponytail, making her blend in the shadows even better. There was something thrilling about being able to hide in the shadows. Even though someone could just walk past, no one would ever spot her, which meant no one would disturb her.

Looking off into the sunset, she remembered a time, long ago, when she had been truly happy and satisfied with her life, back when it was not just her against the world, when it was not just one person for herself.

" _Avs! Where did you go!" Avy's then best friend yelled._

" _I'm right here, silly." Avy giggled, hanging upside on a tree brunch._

" _You're such a— "_

" _Don't you dare say it."_

 _The two girls used to constantly play hide-and-seek. And even as a child, she was always found high up on a tree branch. She did not have many friends as a child either, she prefered to stick to herself. After all, how would she know which friends would betray her?_

Everything was fine, at least until her shadows started doing peculiar stuff while she slept at night; messing up the house and bringing nightmares to the elves around her. But it never made sense, even now, since she never manifested as a Shade until she was 13.

Yet, everything went wrong on the night of July 14th, when she was a mere child of six winters.

That night, at twilight, anyone who was awake would have heard screams echoing throughout the city as nightmares invaded their sleep.

It was a frightening night, for sure. Everyone found themselves waking up with cuts and bruises, some even seriously injured. But no elf could remember any of their dreams, not even those with eidetic memories, only that one elf was still asleep through all of that, screaming her lungs out as shadows surrounded her as the full moon stared in her face, spreading darkness over her despite it's silver, eerie glow that lit up the room where she lay.

Avy remembered the Tribunal. It was the scariest thing an elf could ever face. Being the one to face the Council's wrath— especially as a six year old child having to stand before twelve adults who were the ones in charge of deciding her fate.

She remembered when they were placing their votes to decide whether she should be banished or not.

She remembered when it was all down to one more vote to break the tie.

She remembered as she dared to look at Councillor Emery as he decided. She had hoped, she had prayed, that this old friend of her biological parents, the one who had comforted her when they died, when her brother had not returned in one piece, alive.

Yet, he voted to banish her from the Lost Cities. Possibly forever.

She had felt betrayed, not just by the Council Member she was told to call 'Uncle', but also by the rest of the council who knew her parents through Councillor Emery. The very people she grew up around, who used to smile at her everyday, and find time to talk to that once cheerful little elf even with their busy schedules. There were of course, those who stood by her side. But most voted to banish her, not even having the decency to look at her with their guilty looks.

Avy let out a frustrated sigh and ran her fingers through her hair, something she did whenever she thought of her past.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she suddenly caught a flash of white.

Sticking close to the tree and in the shadows, Avy jumped off her branch without any sound and quickly walked to where she had seen the light.

She frowned when she saw nothing there but decided to check her surroundings, just in case anyone could stumble upon their hideout, or even worse, be looking for it.

By the time she got back to the hideout, the sun had already completely set.

She saw a certain auburn-haired girl run towards her, shouting, "Come on, _he_ has exciting news!"

Avy simply raised her eyebrows at her. _He_ rarely had any good news, especially nowadays, with their plans constantly being ruined one way or another. Nothing was seeming to work for them, and the supposedly "big plans" one of their second-in-command leader— a mysterious blonde-haired woman— was making didn't seem very impressive at all.

"We have a new recruit!" Jin looked like she was about to explode from her excitement, which was certainly something Avy rarely ever saw.

Avy's eyes widened in surprise at the news. Like Jin, they were taught not to show emotions easily— especially Avy, who found herself constantly on missions with Empaths as their target.

"You ain't joking, right? _He_ hasn't recruited anyone since the Ruewen girl died," Avy said, staring at her friend.

"Her name was _Jolie_ , but yeah. No one knows why _he_ stopped recruiting though. Probably to lie low, in case the Council finds out something about us." Jin replied, seemingly growing uninterested in the topic.

Jolie Ruewen was amazing. While Avy had not been close with her, she had heard many stories— though after she died, there were some rumors going around that she was not what she seemed, whatever that could mean.

Avy let out yet another sigh. "And I don't suppose he needs me to shadow-read him since Ms. Fancyhair has suddenly appeared back from whatever she's doing?"

Avy was no Descryer, after all, only Councillor Terik himself possessed that ability. However, as a Shade, she could easily shadow-read a person based on their shadowvapor to find out how many secrets new recruits kept. The thicker and more opaque the layer of shadowvapor was in an elf's mind, the more dangerous their secret was.

Avy had taught herself to manipulate darkness more excellently than the other Shades could. Other than that, she could also tell an elf's potential— however only potential for darkness and light, unlike a Descryer, whose ability was all-rounded.

"Nope, you'll be on stage next to the leaders and the new recruit." Jin smirked, a mischievous glint in her eyes, making Avy think she had been the one to intervene their leaders from calling Ms. Fancyhair to carry out the 'job'.

Avy sighed, then shook her head. "Lead the way, if you will," she said, gesturing to the podium. They walked a little longer together, before they reached the podium and Jin vanished into the crowd of the organisation's members, all silently waiting for Avy to get up.

"Winter!" _He_ yelled as soon as she came into view.

"It's _Wilhelmina_." Avy groaned. The leaders of their order preferred to call her by her middle name, Wilhelmina for secrecy's sake.

"What is it with men and always forgetting people's names? And here I am, thinking that they were only from those cliche human books," she mumbled under her breath, although obviously not soft enough as _he_ raised his eyebrows at her.

 _Whoops._

Avy quickly rushed to the side of the leaders who were glaring at her, save for Lady Grouchy-pants who did not even bother to look at her.

Instead of glaring back at them, she looked at the new recruit. He seemed to be about her age, maybe a year or two older. His eyes were a bright turquoise color that reminded her of the ocean. But what caught her eyes the most was his hair. Surprisingly neat, his hair was a blinding shade of white. Something rarely seen. Maybe he was a Froster.

"Ahem, Wendy?" _He_ spoke, looking at her with those sharp daggers for eyes. The new recruit turned to look at her. Avy ignored his penetrating stare. She was used to things like that.

She quickly nodded and dipped a perfectly executed curtsy. In the three years where she lived with her adoptive parents, instead of looking after her, they had shoved her into redundant classes like etiquette and things Avy would have later learnt in Foxfire if not for her banishment.

Snapping back into the present, Avy felt herself entering his head. Slowly, she unveiled each layer of darkness surrounding his mind, counting them as she went further.

 _This guy sure has a lot of secrets,_ Avy thought to herself as she finished counting and felt her consciousness returning to the real world.

"So?" Lady Grouchy-pants asked, obviously getting impatient. Avy pitied her son, whom would have to deal with her attitude.

"Well, he isn't a threat to us." Avy lied through her teeth. He had too many veils, but so did she.

She then looked at his shadow which looked much darker than a normal elves' shadow. Elves shadows were different than humans. It disobeyed what the humans called science. The darker the shadow, the more chance one would do evil, or good. Of course, Avy was the only one who knew that, from the years she spent finding out the different shades an elf's shadow could be.

"He will be part of changing the word, but for good or evil, that's his choice, no one can interfere with it." Avy warned _him_ , speaking the very truth this time.

Avy saw the new recruit look at her, and she returned it with an intense stare. She hated it when someone stared at her. Some people just didn't have manners.

But instead of looking away like most people did, his eyes twinkled in amusement. Avy glared at him before she looked away and turned her attention back to _him._

"Well then, looks like we have a brand new recruit." _He_ spoke, clapping the boy's back. Avy backed off by a step.

 _He_ was never this nice to anyone, and it set alarms off in her head.

"Our newest Empath, and most importantly, another _Pyrokinetic,_ " _He_ exclaimed, as a wide smirk appeared on his face.

Avy's eyes widened in realization, then narrowed into slits. Not only did he have the _only_ ability that was banned, he was also an Empath. That automatically marked him as dangerous, the perfect trait for a member of their organization.

Pyrokinesis was the ability that had the most cases out of all the troublesome abilities. Most Pyrokinetics also used their abilities against the Councillors' rule, burning things down, not just in the Lost Cities, but the Neutral Territories and the Forbidden Cities as well.

Their kind was the most feared. Most elves saw them as power-hungry elves, elves that were willing to kill, even despite the guilt that would make them go insane. It only got worse when their ability was banned, and those without a second ability were branded Talentless, unable to work in the nobility, or continue with their studies in Foxfire. They were treated like outcasts.

It was no surprise that _he_ would recruit him. A Pyrokinetic. After all, they were famous among their organization, were they not?

The Neverseen. A group of elves who worked against the Council, who corrected their mistakes, who would always do more than the twelve Councillors could ever do. Most elves would probably see them as evildoers, but Avy knew better. The Councillors were wrong to have banned pyrokinesis. Dangerous or not, in a world where one's ability defined them, it was who Pyrokinetics were, and they should never have been branded terrible and labelled as dangerous for what they did not choose to become. Neither should they have slapped a label on the Talentless— they were more skillful than any Talented elf, more level-headed, and ten times smarter.

While Avy would admit that the Councillors were not evil, they had still done many terrible things— things they hid from the entirety of the intelligent species, and things they hid from themselves too. Besides, why should elves have a bunch of more powerful people controlling them? Why have a group of nobles who look down on others? Like Dame Alina and Lord Quan?

They should have been given their own freedom to become who they wanted to be, after all, it was their own life. And _that_ was what the Neverseen believed in— that, _and_ giving people a second chance.

They were far better than any other elvin group, especially the pathetic group who dared call themselves the Black Swan. They had misused the name of a majestic, graceful creature that they certainly were not even close to being like.

Avy hated them.

The black-haired Shade was snapped back into reality when she realized that _he_ and the leaders were leaving the podium, leaving her staring off into space.

"Hey, so you're the Shade around here." The new guy said, brisk-walking to Avy's side as she turned away from the podium, starting to walk off as well.

"No kidding," She replied, her voice betraying her boredom. Keeping her hands in her pockets, she tilted her head at him and continued, "You have many secrets, kid. You better make sure no one around here finds out how many." She knew as she turned to look at him in the eyes, that he could sense her wariness around him.

"Kid? I'm quite certain I'm older than you. Besides what's with the lack of trust? I can sense it, you know," the guy replied, clearly offended. As if she didn't know he was an Empath. Every member in their hideout was probably gossiping about him right now—and 'gossiping' was simply putting things lightly.

Avy let her intense gaze be seen before she said, "I have no reason to trust you." With that she spun on her heel and stalked out of the room, but not before he shouted after her.

"Wait. What's your name?"

Not even bothering to look at him, she said, "You don't need to know. We're just two elves in the same organization. I don't need to know your name, and you don't need to know mine. End of story."

The guy opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else, but decided against it and closed it, shaking his head as he turned to leave—

"Windora, can I speak with you?" _He_ asked, suddenly appearing out of nowhere and once again getting her name wrong. Avy masked her surprise as she readied her reply.

"You can, but you may not," was what Avy really wanted to say, but speaking back to her boss, could very well get her not just kicked out, but killed in the most brutal fashion. Most elves could not even stand the thought of violence, but she had been taught to set aside her personal feelings. She didn't want to get kicked out or killed, though, so she bit back her snide remark.

"Of course, sir," Avy mumbled under her breath, following after _him_ , who had not even bothered to wait for her reply before stalking off in the direction of his office.

It was only then, that Avy realized how familiar the new guy looked. The colour of his eyes, a greener shade of turquoise that seemed to sparkle like crystals in the light. And the shape of his face kept replaying over and over in her mind like there was something about him that she had seen before.

 _Why? Why does he seem so familiar, yet not?_

Avy pondered over this as she walked deeper into the most secretive wing in their hideout. The walls seemed to change every few hours, at no set timing. If someone didn't know what to look out for, they'd find themselves completely lost and trapped.

 _His_ office was literally the most secured room in the whole place, which was saying something with the high security their top Technopaths had designed for the whole hideout over the years.

She slipped through the slight gap in the door before it slammed shut behind her, finding herself once again in _his_ office. While it wasn't completely normal for her to be in _his_ office, it was not unusual either. She'd had her fair share of coming to his office over the past nine years. _He_ was sitting cross-legged behind his desk, and Avy tried to ignore the multitude of burn marks across the splintered wood.

"Wanda, take a seat." _He_ said, gesturing to a chair on which had a messy stack of papers and some _interesting_ things from which she immediately averted her eyes.

Avy stared at _him._ She couldn't tell if he was an idiot, or if he really that forgetful. How was it possible to call someone by four different names in the span of less than half an hour? She decided to just ignore the misnomer.

Instead, she cleared her throat and replied politely, "I'd rather stand." She quickly made up the excuse so that she wouldn't have to move the things and possibly get a 'scolding' for touching _his_ stuff.

 _He_ stared at her for a few long seconds before finally beginning to address her. "Our new recruit will be joining you at Exillium tomorrow, Winnie. I have been notified from a source of mine that there will be two other Waywards joining tomorrow. Also, the Coaches have decided that you will be helping out with the Dividing."

"Wait, what?" The words slipped out of her mouth before she could filter them. "I mean, why in the Neverseen would you need him to join me in Exillium? Last I remembered, it was a _solo_ mission."

"Yes, one you have been working on for 5 years already, and despite that fact you only came back with mediocre reports. Not to mention that you had never managed to capture that traitor." _He_ replied, no doubt annoyed at her tone.

"Well, she's dead, is she not?" Avy retorted. Unfortunately, she could hardly remember much from that mission four years ago with how messed up her mind was at that time.

It was her one of her many jobs to try and find any possible Black Swan members who were attending Exillium. However, she had only managed to get close to completing her mission once, and the girl had ran away, only to be killed by the Everblaze that _he_ had set.

"Of course she is," _he_ said irritably. "And that is all for the topic."

Before Avy could reply, _he_ cut in, "Oh, and _you'll_ be training him."

With that, _he_ waved his hand carelessly, as if to dismiss her. "That would be all. Remember to report early. Now get out of my sight!"

 **A/N:** To clear things up, this is a three-way collaborative fanfic written by Xylia Neo, HazardousDestiny (Yvonne), and AudreaJ.

Sora Heks is Xylia Neo's OC, Avyela Ellis is AudreaJ's OC, and Cordelia Malum is HazardousDestiny's OC.

Chapter One was written by Xylia, Chapter Two was written by Audrea, and the upcoming Chapter Three is written by Yvonne.

—Xylia

 ** _Basically, what she meant was: this is the contribution of three girls to the KOTLC fandom. I write in Corey's pov, Audrea writes in Avy's pov, and Sora writes in Sora's pov. There is no chapter rules, no, oh chapter 1,4,7 is Sora's, and so on. Have fun reading! No flames or spoilers too._**

 ** _~Yvonne_**

 _Hey, thanks for reading and all the support! I hope those two cleared any confusion up. We'll be updating roughly three weeks apart. Can't wait to hear your comments, feel free to send criticism too, thanks._

 _~Audrea_


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

 _She is the girl everyone thinks they understand._

Dammit, Cordelia Malum inwardly cursed as she looked at herself in the mirror, furiously brushing her wayward hair. A sure sign it was so not going to be her day.

Having another nightmare about her parents had already set off alarm bells in her head, but realising your hair had decided to betray you after it had dried? This was totally not going to be a very good day—

"Cordelia!" A scream shot through her room from the kitchen. Dropping her brush in alarm, she raced to the source of the scream, inwardly hoping that everything was alright. Dang, why was this house so BIG?!

The last time she heard a scream of that intensity, she had lost almost everything.

Skidding to a halt in front of the kitchen, Corey summoned a stream of water from the air, ready to fire it at a moment's notice, only to realise that, well, her adoptive mother was standing on a chair, quivering in fear in front of what could be considered as a tiny mouse, but with oversized ears and giant eyes the size of marbles. Rolling her eyes, Cordelia sighed. It was the fifth time this month, and they weren't even halfway through! Thankfully it was Saturday.

Spotting the bright blue eyes of the tiny creature, she smiled wryly, snarking, " These pontiki keep showing up, don't they? I swear, it's like they're attracted to you or something, isn't it, Aya?"

Another scream pierced Corey's ears as her adoptive mother Ayagi Larayna tumbled off her chair. Cue another sigh from her irritated daughter.

"Okay, calm down Aya. C'mon Sev, stop freaking her out and drop the illusion, now."

Her tone was icy cold, and it revealed her heritage. Her biological mother Chari Malum, with her ability as a Froster, was famous among the Black Swan for being the Ice Queen.

Corey shook the thought away, not wanting to think about the past right then.

Light flashed before Corey's eyes, pushing her gloomy thoughts to the back of her mind, and instead of a little rat-like creature with blue eyes shimmering with mischief, in its place stood a man, looking in his mid-thirties, with silver-streaked black hair, his slightly pointed ears betraying his real age, and the same blue eyes.

Chuckling, Illusionist Sevdaís Dispettò grinned at his sort-of-but-not-really-adoptive daughter. It was only a matter of time before she gained an adoptive dad.

"Isn't this the fifth time this month?" she asked him. When he nodded smugly, she clicked her tongue at him in disapproval, adding, "She never gets it, does she? Oh, nevermind about that— whatcha got for me to do today? C'mon, there's gotta be something for me to do!" Nearly bouncing on her toes, she was desperate for a mission. Living at an isolated place with only her workaholic adoptive mother for elvin company, things got boring real fast.

There were only so many things that Aya let her break.

"Nothing much, I'm afraid. But you might want to pop over to the other side for a bit. They're getting a little suspicious" was the reply.

Corey smirked and raised an eyebrow at the phrase "getting a little suspicious". If anyone was the expert at spotting out suspicious activity, she, Cordelia Malum, was. And dang, was she proud of that.

It was originally Sevadís' idea for a spy to infiltrate the enemy for the Black Swan. Even though things had gone wrong last time with Jolie Ruewen, a former Black Swan member, it still couldn't hurt to follow in her footsteps and dig a little further.

But the problem was that Jolie hadn't left anything behind, not a single report on her time with the enemy, so Corey had to start from scratch. it was exhausting working for the Black Swan, trying to convince the enemy that she was faithful towards them, and trying to accomplish her original mission at the same time: to root out spies and recruit Black Swan members in Exillium. It should have been easy enough, due to her telepathic ability, but apart from the fact that there were three Hemispheres, Corey was only able to scan the minds of select people in her own group.

Damn Exillium and their bloody mind blocking training.

Never having attended Foxfire before, the only school she had been to was Exillium, and she had been there for about five to six- or was it seven - years already. She wasn't very sure, losing count after the 1300th day.

Nodding at Sevadís, she replied, "Alright, I'll go over there for a sec. They trust me enough to give me missions, and I gotta make full use of that. Besides, I heard there's gonna be a new recruit today— oh damn it, the new recruit! Crap. I gotta go! See you!"

Groaning, Corey pulled on her boots, pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and grabbed her bag. No use wasting time to brush her hair if she wanted to go to Neverseen hideout- ASAP. Bursting out of her door and into the bright sunlight, she raised the yellow crystal stone hidden in the inside pocket of her jacket, tilted it to catch the glaring sunlight, and murmured a single word.

A flash of light, and she was gone.

"Ah!" she screamed, materializing a meter above the ground, before crashing to the ground, her temporary leaping crystal disintegrating in her hands. For some reason, this happened every. Single. Time. And she most likely had to go to three more locations before making it.

"Where is it…" she muttered to herself, rummaging through the bushes where the next leaping crystal would be found. With Neverseen being a really secret organization, one had to leap to a variety of different places before actually landing at the correct place.

Several years ago, when she was still gaining the trust of the organization, one of the pathfinders landed her in a dumpster. Forced to sit there while trying to solve the puzzle box they left behind—in which consisted of another temporary leaping crystal—the memory of the stench was still fresh in her head.

"Ah-ha!" Triumphantly, she held up a glittering silvery blue crystal rock, which led her straight to the doorstep. Miraculously, her landing wasn't that bad this time.

Standing up and dusting herself off, she looked around, observing her surroundings. Trees, trees, and even more trees.

Yep, she had definitely landed in the right place. Besides, the salt from the sea was burning in her nose.

Pulling a cloak and several potions she'd purchased from Slurps and Burps to change her appearance, she hurriedly drank the potions, turning her ice-blue eyes to a dark indigo blue, her skin colour to a much darker tone, and threw her hood up, lest someone saw her and recognises her as Cordelia Malum, adoptive daughter of Council Emissary Ayagi Larayna, or even worse, Cordelia Malum, daughter of Black Swan members Chari and Stark Malum.

Right now, she was Seraphina Rache, member of the Neverseen.

No sooner had she put her hood up, she felt a swirl of wind, and heard her fake name being called.

"Sera!" Turning around, she found herself tackled in a bear hug. Thank goodness her hood was still up when she finally managed to free herself from the iron grip.

With blonde hair, turquoise eyes, and a tanned complexion, Rasota Ovida was Corey's "best friend" and one of the prettiest teenagers in Neverseen. Her parents were part of the Neverseen as high ranking members, so she was let off relatively easily when it came to testing her.

She was also the first of the Neverseen to trust her, albeit not completely. Of course, that was understandable. How are you able to trust someone when you don't even know their real name and face? But all things being said, she still was a rather close, albeit fake friend of hers, not that she had many close friends. (That was a lie. She didn't have any friends.)

"It's been such a long time since you came back!" Off mission, Rasota was a bounding ball of excitement and enthusiasm, but Corey knew better than anyone that she was as ruthless as their leader during missions. Wow, split personality disorder, anyone?

"Yeah, I'm so sorry, had to sneak out, me mum was keeping a close eye on me for the past few days...or weeks…. Anyways, I'm real sorry, honey..." Groans and an eyeroll were executed to make the lie seem convincing. She tended to blabber on and on when she was lying, though, and despite the countless times she had practised, her nervousness still slipped through sometimes.

Keeping up a lie at all times was simply exhausting. But it was partially the truth. Ayagi had been asking her to do so many things, that she was only able to take a break today.

Rasota's eyes narrowed slightly, but after a split second all traces of suspicion vanished and she grabbed Corey's arm excitedly, squealing, "C'mon, let's go take a look at the new recruit! I heard rumors that he's HOT!"

Cue a groan and another eyeroll. Rasota may one of the youngest as well as one of the deadliest assassins in the Neverseen, but when it came to boys, she went completely crazy. To be more specific, hot boys— something which Corey was never very interested in.

With her job(s), her quest for vengeance and school, she had no time for boys. It was like puberty had skipped the hormones bit for her. She had literally woken up one day and found that her body was… different. Well, it just made things a lot easier for her. Lucky her.

Corey stifled her sigh and shook her head, saying, "Nah, it's okay. I just popped by to see if they have anything for me. Besides, if he's a newcomer, it means we'll be seeing him around a lot… but… Ras? Why is the forest so quiet?"

It was true. It seemed as if the forest was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

Was it just her imagination, or did the shadows seem a little darker, the forest a little gloomier, the crashing of the waves on the shore seem a little less soothing, a little more like bones splintering and crunching? Thinking that, she suppressed a shiver that went down her spine.

It all reminded her of that fateful day, the day where she lost almost everything.

"Mama….Papa…..don't leave me…" A young girl, just a few weeks after her ninth birthday, had kneeled before two recently planted Wanderlings. Flowers and candles had surrounded the mounds of soil, mourning the loss of the two precious elvin lives.

It had been pouring, as if the heavens had decided to take pity and cry in memory of the deceased. Many friends and family of the deceased had crowded around the Wanderlings, expressing sympathy and sorrow, shedding tears, some even openly crying into their handkerchiefs. But none had expressed more agony than the little girl who had broken down, collapsing before her parents' graves, sobs wracking her thin body.

No one had had the heart to berate her for showing disrespect. They had been, after all, both only forty-seven when they died. They, according to elvin standards, had died extremely, no, ridiculously young.

Everyone knew the details on how they died— an accident involving a raging unicorn had resulted in their deaths, as they had sacrificed their lives to protect their daughter and another girl, who had fainted due to her severe head injuries after the unicorn had collided with the poor child. But some knew better. That was no accident. It was a deliberate murder, aimed to kill.

The girl was pitied, having seen her parents' death take place before her eyes. Some wondered how she would be able to manage the guilt. Other doubted that she was able to handle the guilt at all, mentally preparing themselves for another planting.

Suddenly, a young woman with hair darker than a raven's wing, ears making her look the same age as the deceased, stepped forward and placed a cloak over the girl's shoulders. Looking up, the girl whimpered, "Ayagi…", before breaking into sobs again.

The woman kneeled down and wrapped the girl into a tight embrace, whispering words that can only be described as comforting, unheard to the ears of the casual observers, patting her back comfortingly. The girl responded by circling her thin arms around her, clinging on to her like a lifesaver. The intensity of the grip seemed painful, but the woman showed no sign of pain, instead pulling the girl even closer to her.

After what seemed like an eternity, a young man had stepped out of the throngs of surrounding elves and placed a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder. His eyes looked like they sparkled often, but they weren't sparkling now— they were brimming with sadness.

"Aya…" he had said softly. "We… we gotta go.."

Still hugging the girl, the woman had stood up, carrying the girl along with her. It looked as if she, as well, had been trying to hold her tears back. Stiffly nodding, they had prepared to leave. But the girl's sudden shout had halted them.

"Wait!" she had blurted out. "I...I wanna say goodbye to them."

Silently nodding her permission, the woman gently put her down. The girl had run over to where her parents' Wanderlings were planted. Mouthing words that could not be heard, the little girl had bidden farewell to her parents, bowed, and walked away shakily.

Weeks later, word had spread that the girl had been adopted by a friend of her parents, Council Emissary Ayagi Larrayna. Some who had attended the funeral recognized her as the woman who had comforted the child, but she had previously, and still was trying to lead a private life, and soon, most had forgotten that the Malums actually had a daughter. There was a dispute for the possession of the child, the rumors flew. How the mother's estranged brother, her uncle, longed to gain custody of the child. How the silent fury that came lasted for months. But, in the end, how the Emissary finally kept the child. Rumors of foul play swirled, but nothing concrete. The family went forgotten by most.

However, those who could remember, could not forget the tear-stained face of the young girl, sobbing in agony as she kneeled before the Wanderlings.

How could they?

"—Sera? Sera! SERA!" A yell jolted her away from her surroundings. Rasota stood in front of her, hands on her hips, turquoise eyes, half hidden by her hood, flashing in anger, laced with the barest hint of concern. She must've zoned out again, lost in the ancient memory of her biological parents.

"I— I'm sorry, what were you saying again?" Corey inwardly cringed at how her voice trembled from the shock Rasota had given her. Dammit, she must've said something important! Concentrate, Cordelia, concentrate! She simply couldn't afford to lose focus at the hideout of The Enemy!

"As I was saying," Rasota emphasized with a cross tone, "He's here today. And I heard rumors that the new boy's another Empath, and another Pyrokinetic."

That definitely explained why the air felt so— dry. Widening her eyes, she couldn't help but tremble a little again, which, fortunately, went unnoticed by Rasota.

Three Pyrokinetics. Three. If the Neverseen really had recruited another Pyrokinetic, it would only spell bad news for the Black Swan. Bad news, as in B-A-D spaced N-E-W-S, with caps and italics and the works. Especially if the new Pyrokinetic knew how to create Everblaze.

Even if he didn't, she knew that Brant or Fintan, those psychomaniacs, would teach him sooner or later.

Oh, fucking hell. Everblaze. One of the only fires that couldn't be put out with water. As a Hydrokinetic, it shook her to her core. And if he let that fire loose in the Lost CIties—the Lost Cities! Aya! Sev! Her parents' Wanderlings! And every other innocent resident in the Lost Cities!

She had to warn the Black Swan.

Just when she thought of this, her knees gave way, and she collapsed onto the damp floor of the forest. Moisture seeped through her clothes, but she gave it no mind. Moisture was good for her, and it helped in healing her and calming her down.

After her parents died, Ayagi, who was already like a mother to her, had taken her under her wing, adopting her and raising Corey as her own daughter. Sevdaís, although having no obligations towards Corey— unlike Aya, who also became her Black Swan mentor— still visited frequently, acting like the father in their makeshift family.

Family. She had already lost one family, she simply couldn't afford to lose another. There was another reason why the Neverseen had to be taken down: not just to protect her own family, but also the family of others, the families of innocent elves. She wished with all her heart, that no child would be able to witness a similar scene to what she had once witnessed.

Corey closed her eyes for a long second as she lay on the muddy ground.

"Sera! What happened? Are you okay?" Rasota noticed her collapse, and asked worryingly. Seeing her chance, Corey opened her eyes and grabbed it.

Forget her mission. This was big news, and since he was a newbie, the Black Swan would probably not realise his powers until he had released them. And after years of observing the Neverseen, Corey understood most of their tactics. Most likely, they would wait, biding their time, striking only when the Black Swan was weak.

That extent of power just might be able to bring the Black Swan to its knees. The Neverseen had always exerted one's power to the greatest extent, and she highly doubted that they would stop now.

"I…don't feel so well… I'm in no shape to take on missions right now… by staying here, I would only burden the Organization…" Shakily, she created a lie, to top the pile of lies she already was carrying around everywhere she went. Well, not created, since Aya had been the one who made that excuse towards the other Black Swan members, whenever Corey needed to go home and sleep if she was working too much in the hideout, her age a mystery to most. Especially when she was younger. Sleep had never come easily to her. It still didn't.

Seeing Rasota reply with a suggestion of her going home, her face still stricken with concern, she felt her lips break out in a tired smile, still playing the part of the currently exhausted Seraphina. "Thanks, Ras… Tell him for me, would ya? Wouldn't want him suspecting me, yeah?"

While telling Rasota another lie—or was it the truth?— Corey pulled out her pathfinder, already equipped with her home crystal, and got ready to vanish home. Or at least, that was the plan. Suddenly from the seemingly empty forest— was that white hair?— someone emerged, stepping out from the darkness.

Corey stifled her scream and her pathfinder slipped out of her hand and tumbled to the ground. Thank goodness that she was wearing black clothes. Holding her breath, she tried to blend into the shadows, no ordinary feat, as she wasn't a Shade.

She had never seen him before. White hair, turquoise eyes, skin as pale as his hair (which is sayin' something)—no, she wasn't kidding. He looked simply hilarious. It must be crazy genetics. And she suspected that his hair was dyed. It was just a feeling— she couldn't figure out why. But back to the main point. Who in Eternalia would think it was a good idea to dye their hair white when they look like that? He looked like a ghost! And considering she had never seen a clown like that in the Neverseen before, he must be the new guy.

Rasota seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as she tossed her hair and fluttered her eyelashes. She felt like throwing up.

Well, he was sorta okay-looking… if you like people who look like clowns, that is, she reasoned with herself, trying her best to hide her very obvious snickering.

Alas, not everything went to plan, as he heard her laughter, and looked down, right at where she was still lying. Crap. She's been spotted.

Tightening the strap of her belt, Corey stretched her consciousness out to touch the new recruit's mind. Then she rose to her feet calmly, brushing the dirt off her clothes, and lifted her chin in a cold greeting. She did all this in an unhurried fashion, lest she did something even worse to lose her face. She might be a dirty spy, she might be a liar all her life, but she still had her pride and dignity.

She knew she had succeeded when Rasota smiled in approval. Ras might have been trying to impress the new recruit in an entirely unflattering way (in her opinion, but it seemed to work on guys) but being a cold and ruthless Neverseen assassin all her life, she knew when someone was just the right amount of cool.

Raising an eyebrow, the new recruit opened his mouth and spoke. "The hell?" He spoke it in a condescending way, like he wasn't impressed at all. Like he thought that his clown disguise could do better.

Hearing those two words come out of his mouth, so different from Rasota's strong approval, she could feel her anger already reaching boiling point.

Her temper was getting harder and harder to control as the days slipped past. The stress of being a double agent was finally getting to her— and it was all because of him. The new recruit that had to change everything in the game.

Before she realised what she was doing, she retorted, "What, ya gotta a problem with that?" And with that, she slapped him hard on the cheek, feeling the sting on her palm.

After the words came out her mouth, she inwardly cursed. Dammit. She was currently Seraphina, not Cordelia. Seraphina was cold and calculating in missions, and a complete bitch outside of it. Corey might act like a bitch sometimes, but that was just a mask. Sassing people was so much more fun than bitching around.

Seeing no other way out of this, she scoffed at him and muttered a goodbye and a thank you to Rasota— who hurriedly passed her another temporary leaping crystal for her next trip to the hideout— raised her pathfinder, and vanished home.

When she landed on the grassy front porch, the dwarven guards nodding as they let her strut past the sterling silver gates, she recalled what she had seen in the guy's head. She knew it broke every law as a Telepath to read one's mind without permission, but no one had realised, so she should be safe. Embarrassment, anger, and slight frustration. Definitely an Empath.

Sighing, she threw her arms back and yelling to the sky, causing a few skittish birds to fly away, the braver ones choosing to shoot a dirty glare at her. Could birds actually do that? Corey waved her idle thoughts away and stared at the empty space in front of her, brooding over what she'd just found out.

Great. Not only was he an Pyrokinetic, he was also an Empath. She hated Empaths. But it wasn't the time to dwell on matters like these.

She had come back for a reason.

Rushing into the house, she yelled, "Aya! I need to talk to the Boss, now! It's important!"

 **AUTHORS' NOTE**

Audrea: Sorry for the late update guys (you can blame Yvonne haha). Happy reading, and thanks for all the support!

Yvonne: My own daughter has finally made her appearance! Took a while (*cough* exams). And yeah, I know, but whaddaya think of her? (sorry proud mama here.) Well, as you might've noticed, our updates are spordiac. We've got a lot of obstacles blocking our way, and we'd prefer we take things slowly, so that y'all get better stuff.

Audrea: Anyway, Chapter 4 is coming soon and hint: it's about a certain polyglot.

Xylia: See you next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

 _Let the revolution begin._

Soundlessly, she slipped the gloves onto her hands. She wanted to marvel at how the smooth, silky fabric felt nothing but a second skin clinging to her perfectly, but the lump in her throat made her do otherwise.

There were so many people, so many people watching her, more than she had ever known in her short-lived life of seventeen years. They were a stark contrast to the comfortable feeling the gloves gave her— the stares seemed even more piercing than the usual ones she got when she passed through the Foxfire hallways, more venomous, more dangerous.

It felt like the whole world was breathing down her neck. It felt like the entirety of her house crashing down on her family once again. It felt like the very split second when her twin sister's boots struck her table lamp and sent it shattering into a million itty bitty pieces.

Twelve elves who gave out ominous and intimidating vibes sat regally on their crystal thrones before her eyes, all of their piercing eyes fixed on her and her alone. Most of them were glaring at her, a bunch of them were giving her stern looks that matched Dame Alina's, and only two of them were looking at her with pity and sympathy. Usually Sora hated anything, _anything_ to do with the Council, but at this moment, she strangely found those two Councillors affectionate and warm.

Sora wasn't exactly sure what their names were, but she did not want to seem rude, so as she pretended to smooth down a non-existent wrinkle in her right glove, her eyes stole a quick flicker at the two Councillor's thrones, which were positioned next to each other, as if fate had brought two kindred spirits together. Suddenly, their names popped up in her head.

 _Kenric and Oralie._

Despite her attempt to try and sneak, her eyes accidentally locked with Kenric's. Kenric looked surprised for a moment, but after that he got over himself and smiled warmly at Sora.

Sora was stunned for a second-she had never had anyone on the high and mighty Council even break the slightest smile at her, a soon-to-be banished elf. But if Kenric knew that she was a member of the clandestine organisation, the Black Swan, he wouldn't have even thought to be cordial to her Shaking her head to clear her brooding thoughts, she turned away abruptly and focused on something of unimportance, such as how pointy Councillor Bronte's ears were. With those super-pointy ears, she wondered how he would put on a hat, or even his circlet that he had managed to place perfectly on his head.

"Miss Heks," Bronte said suddenly, after clearing his throat loudly and receiving no reply from Sora, who was still concentrating on the pointiness of his ears. "Miss Heks!"

Sora jumped in surprise, making the audience sitting behind her explode in amused laughter. Even Kenric, Oralie, and a whole lot of other Councillors she didn't know cracked a smile. "Y-yes, Councillor Bronte?" She dipped an awkward curtsy just in time. That was supposed to mollify Bronte, but he only narrowed his eyes at her even more.

Sora tried not to notice Soreas, who was sniggering behind her. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked like he had been crying, but Sora knew his laugh when he had one. She did not realise she was staring at his face in a wistful expression, until their eyes met. Soreas sat frozen for a second, but after an uncomfortable second, he smiled sadly at her, making her wonder if he had also guessed what her punishment would be already.

She tried to scour out Mr. Forkle in the crowd, but she knew he would not be here. He was probably still in the Forbidden Cities, looking after the _suldreen._

Thinking of Project Moonlark made her gather her nerves together and clench her fists to help her concentrate. _She_ was the one who made Sophie Foster possible. Not the only one, but the moonlark would not be who she was now if it was not for her.

She needed to stay strong for _her._ For the Black Swan.

She could not break in front of the people who had destroyed this world, who did not even believe that the Black Swan existed, who would face their downfall and see what kind of world they had shaped out of their own hands.

"I see you're concentrating now," Councillor Emery told Sora bluntly, making a few people snicker. "You are in no position to space out at all. Have you no idea of what you have done?"

Sora now knew the reason why Councillor Emery was the spokesperson for the Council. He had a certain way with words that made people feel whatever he wanted to feel. And now, having being reminded of everything that had just happened in the short timespan of less than an hour, her throat went dry and her hands became slick with sweat again. The world flickered before her eyes like it was trying to replay all her wrongs, and she started to tremble uncontrollably. Blurry images flashed before her eyes, morphing Councillor Emery's face into Soreas's scared one, and the whispers in the crowd behind her suddenly became clear to her ears.

" _She killed Calsa and Krebbe…"_

" _Talk about an unfilial daughter…"_

" _I've had enough of her…"_

" _Banish her from here! Send her to Exillium!"_

" _She's just out of control...I say we send her to Exile instead…"_

Emery sighed, cutting through the whispers and sending Sora back to reality. "Please quieten down as the other Councillors and I make our final decision. Miss Heks, please step back and take your seat beside your brother for the moment. Prepare yourself for the worse."

 _What does he mean? What does he mean?_

 _You know what he means._

Sora barely remembered to nod and curtsy again as she stumbled into the seat beside Soreas. Everything in her seemed to hurt, and she stared at her gloves, then her feet. Jin's boots had been recovered from the debris, and it had been sent to her, but she had the horrible feeling she would have to wear a different pair of boots from later onwards.

"Hey," whispered someone from above her. The whispers had died down, only leaving a few murmurs here and there. Sora frowned at the sudden voice-was it speaking to _her?_ It seemed so, and it obviously wasn't Soreas. But it could be only trying to personally spite her…

Then again, it could actually be someone from the Black Swan, trying to communicate to her. Although anyone trying to communicate Black-Swan-related things in front of the Council was an idiot.

Nevertheless, she took a deep breath and turned her head around slightly, her eyes scanning for the one who was trying to speak to her. Everyone flinched at her gaze running through them, and immediately averted their eyes, but it was clear that one person didn't falter from her stare at all.

Sora frowned again. She immediately recognised that boy— she would know his parents anywhere. They didn't really talk in school, and they didn't really know each other as well, but often being the center topic of gossip of the whole Level Seven cohort, Sora was pretty sure he knew her only from the small talk about her.

Elian Fellers might not know anything about her at all, but she knew him like the back of her hand. It was one good thing about having two abilities— it often came with a flawless photographic memory and a wondrous skill to remember everything she'd been told.

"Yes?" she asked stiffly, silencing all the other elves' conversations and turning their attention to the two of them. From the corner of her eye, Sora could see Soreas narrow his eyes at Elian-but she was used to that. Soreas was often overprotective of who she often interacted with, but that was especially strange in this case, since Soreas actually knew Elian quite well.

Elian tossed his fawn-coloured hair out of his eyes, and gave Sora a subtle wink. Sora frowned even more, but made no move to interrupt him as he said, "Everyone knows you'd be sent off to Exillium, and since we'll never see you in the Lost Cities anymore, I just wanted to make use of this time to say that I don't actually think you're _that_ bad. My parents often speak good of you and you sound like a great person. I-I know we haven't really talked to each other before but I will miss you. So will my parents."

The only thing Sora could think of right after he finished his speech was, "Oh boy, I don't think you know what connections exactly your parents have with me."

 _Also, are you kidding me?_ You'll _miss me? Who do you think you are? You didn't even make the effort to talk to me at all before_ this _happened._

But all she said to him was, "Well, you're right about only one thing, and that is, I'll really be sent to Exillium. No one here will ever see me again. And how can you say you'll miss me? I bet you'll forget all about me afterwards."

Elian only smiled at Sora's challenging and dubious tone. "That's why we're lucky that you and I both have a photographic memory. We'll never forget each other as long as we live."

Sora snorted at that. "'We'? 'Never forget each other as long as we live'? Who do you think you are, my husband? Dream on."

Yet, the affectionate words kept repeating over and over again in her mind, causing heat to rush to her cheeks. Probably because of how outrageous he had been. Elian Fellers was as weird as his parents, who worked in the Black Swan as helpers and messengers like her. Who was he to declare her to do anything? He didn't even know that his parents were members of their order.

A bell rang and drowned out Elian's reply, and everyone turned their attention back to the Council. Sora wanted to clutch Soreas's hand in hers, but realised with a pang that Soreas was not looking at her at all. She bit the inside of her cheek and fumed silently when she played back the happenings just now and realised that if Elian didn't interrupt, Sora and Soreas could have had their last moment together in peace.

But now, there wasn't even any time to do anything. And Soreas probably hated her now for spending all her final time in the Lost Cities with a guy she barely knew personally.

Then again, it was her fault that she caused all this to happen. Even if she was a child, even if she had only just manifested her second ability as a Terrakinetic, even if it was not on purpose, there was no erasing the fact that she had singlehandedly destroyed her family's house and murdered her parents in a blink of an eye.

She was dangerous.

She was not to be mercied on.

"The Council has made our final decisions," Councillor Emery began, his voice booming all around the vast Tribunal Hall, reaching into each and everyone's ears.

The hairs on Sora's neck stood up suddenly, as if actually bracing for the critical hit. He motioned Sora to rise, and she urged her knees not to bang into each other as she stepped closer onto the podium, right in front of all the twelve Councillors.

"On the 29th of February, Sora Heks manifested as a Terrakinetic and lost complete control of her ability, destroying her family's residence area, Mettle Manor, beyond repair, and taking away two innocent lives, Calsa and Krebbe Heks.

"From this moment, Sora Heks will thus be banished from all of the Lost Cities for as long as she may live, and never to come back unless granted full permission directly from the Council."

She had already been preparing herself for this moment, but somehow it still hit her hard. Feeling a need to get away from the suffocating scene, she stumbled back a few steps, bumping into Soreas. She bit back her gasp and stepped up to the podium again, cursing herself for messing up.

"Take off her registry pendant," Councillor Emery ordered. It could just be her ears playing tricks on her, but Sora thought she heard him mutter, "Why do I always have to deal with nonsense like this? That Shade girl already caused enough trouble by giving everyone nightmares and injuring them. Now this Terrakinetic girl has to show up and become a murderer." The last word echoed in Sora's mind, playing over and over again like a broken record.

 _Murderer. Murderer. Murderer._

The whole Tribunal Hall was nothing but tensed silence as Councillor Zarina rose from her throne, slowly and meticulously making her way toward Sora. Her heels clicked on the speckless floor, echoing and matching with Sora's frightened heartbeat. She listened to the sound of her heels, never looking up at her doomed future. The sound seemed rather rhythmatic, and soothed Sora down a little, until it—

Stopped.

"Please, if I may just have one minute of your time," someone said, breaking Sora's concentration and eliciting a collective gasp from both the Council and the audience behind.

Hesitantly, Sora turned around, already knowing who it was.

She would know that voice from anywhere.

But what was he doing? Did he have a death wish, interrupting the Council like that?

The Council all exchanged glances with one another as Emery frowned and rubbed his temples rigorously. It seemed like they were having a telepathic debate, and it was clear he could not concentrate.

"What do you wish to say, Mr. Heks?" Councillor Oralie finally asked, breaking the silence with her sweet, silvery voice. The rosy colour in her cheeks had faded, and she looked a little jittery as she, too, rose from her seat and beckoned Soreas to approach her. Placing one gentle hand on Soreas's shoulder, Oralie closed her eyes and waited for a second. Then she said, "You have one minute. You may begin."

 _What is she doing?_

Sora watched in both fascination and confusion as Soreas took a deep breath, and opened his mouth to speak. "Well, you see, Councillor Oralie, my sister has just manifested as a Terrakinetic. We all know that elements are very versatile and hard to control, especially since she'd just had this ability. Sending her to Exillium would mean that Sora would not be trained in Terrakinesis at all, only in skills. If she doesn't receive proper training, more disasters like what happened last night—"

His voice hitched for a second, before he cleared his throat and continued-"and— and I think I speak for everyone when I say we don't want anymore of that to happen."

Everyone nodded in agreement, including some of the Councillors. Sora was stunned by his words, and a little amazed at how much Soreas could pull people over with his words. But… what was he doing, exactly? Was...was he trying to… tell them to let her… stay?

No, that was impossible! The Council would never let someone like her continue staying in the Lost Cities. Soreas might know how to argue well, but he could _never_ change the Council's decisions.

Everyone knew once the Council wanted something, they got it.

"I'm not proposing for Sora to stay here— much as I would want her to, I know that the Lost Cities have to stay in peace and harmony, and we have certain regulations to upkeep. However, sending her to the Neutral Territories by herself is ultimately the most dangerous thing that could ever happen to her, and that might create unrest and tension between the elves and the other intelligent species, since a huge majority of the intelligent species, such as gnomes and ogres, live there. So to prevent most of this from happening, I propose that I be banished along with Sora to accompany her to Exillium, and guide and help her make the right decisions."

Silence fell like a rock crashing down with gravity.

Sora turned to look at Soreas with wide eyes, not believing what he'd actually done.

Did he had any notion of what exactly he had sacrificed for her?

Emery shook his head as he placed a hand to his forehead, trying to navigate the Council's thoughts and sort out the mess.

After a while, all he said was, "Mr. Heks, you have a future in the Lost Cities. Your results have topped the cohort several times. You are guaranteed a high position in the nobility if you continue to keep up your good performance. And yet, you wish to sacrifice all of this for your Unworthy sister." Sora felt like she'd been slapped in the face.

Your _Unworthy sister._

"Yes, I do. After all, I am the only one left in my family now. I am an orphan and a single child if I remain in the Lost Cities. I am her only family left, and I wish to care for her and treasure her as much as I can."

"Soreas…" Sora whispered, feeling tears prick her eyes.

"What he says is genuine," said Oralie quietly, making Sora realise Oralie must be an Empath, trying to get a sense of his emotions to judge his character.

"You don't have to say anything, Sora." Soreas gave her a small smile, then turned back to face the Councillors, of which some looked heavily conflicted, Councillor Emery being one of them. "Please just grant my request. I hope you realise that this is for the best."

" _We_ know what's for the best, Mr. Heks," snapped Councillor Bronte. "And since you are so disrespectful, I don't wish to see your face in the Elven nobility as well. I say we grant your request."

Sora gaped as she watched the rest of the Councillors slowly nod their agreement with Bronte, until the final vote was nine against three.

Nine as in nine Councillors agreeing to banish Soreas along with Sora.

Sora couldn't believe her eyes, and she turned to look at Soreas as she asked, "Why are you doing this?"

 _You could have had it all, you know._

Soreas wrapped Sora in a big hug. "Because I'm your brother. And staying behind here would mean I would have nothing left."

Tears streaked down Sora's cheeks, and she returned her brother's hug as she whispered, "It's just going to get worse from here onwards."

"I know. But… we won't be alone. And that makes all the difference."

When her registry pendant was removed along with Soreas's, Sora felt like it was the start of something new. She took one last look around the cramped Tribunal Hall, one of the very last places in the Lost Cities she would be in.

Her eyes met Elian's for a second, before breaking off.

She sent a last goodbye to Kenric and Oralie, smiling slightly at them to know that their efforts weren't wasted on her.

 _This is for a brighter future. This is for a time where everything will be perfect and everyone will be happy._

 _This is our time._

The last thing she saw was two children with pale silvery-blue eyes and jet-black hair staring at her in wonder before she was taken away to an unknown future.

* * *

 **AUTHORS' NOTE**

 **Xylia:** I love my children, I have nothing else to say. You should be able to guess who these two children are!

 **Audrea:** Well, so I suppose my update soon isn't that soon after all. Welp, not gonna say much, I know how everyone hates these. And now i sound like Yvonne… Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

 **Yvonne:** Damn, this is taking a while to get the ball rollin'! But don't worry, its coming. ;)


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

 _I don't have nightmares._ I _am the nightmare._

"Wake up, quick, there's an alien invasion going on outside!" A voice whisper-yelled into Avy's ear, waking her up.

She didn't even need to open one eye to know that it was Jin. Who else would talk about an alien invasion happening in the Lost Cities? After all, only humans were dumb enough to come up with these theories, and speak of such nonsensical things.

Avy smirked internally, planning her next moves.

In a blink of an eye, she had shot out of her bed, pulled Jin's wrists behind her back and pushed her over the bed, her elbow digging into Jin's ribs.

A shocked and pained yelp came from Jin, before she groaned, and turned her head to stare at Avy. "What in Eternalia was that for?"

"How do I know that _you're_ not one of the aliens?" Avy replied, coldness in her tone, but the smirk on her face betraying her true intentions.

"You're evil," Jin mumbled under her breath, huffing in annoyance as she squirmed under Avy's grip. "Anyway, it was just a fun way to wake you up. You were going to be late if it wasn't for me. So be grateful."

Avy smiled at her crazy friend. Honestly, if it weren't for Jin, she'd probably have gone insane by now. But she simply stuck her tongue out like a childish five-year old human, and fortunately for Jin, decided to finally let her go. "It's your fault for being an idiot," she retorted playfully, as she shoved Jin out of her room to change. The door slammed shut.

Avy sighed heavily as she opened her closet. For some weird reason, whoever stayed in her room before her had came up with the brilliant plan to cover the closet walls with mirrors. It reminded her of Dame Alina's office.

Speaking of Dame Alina, she remembered the mission she went on yesterday in the late afternoon after the new kid's initiation.

* * *

 _She was once again in the Lost Cities in her disguise, ash-blonde, long wavy hair, that was the result of a, thankfully, not permanent Elixir from Slurps and Burps, which she moved to her left shoulder. While she did nothing with her eyes and skin tone, she was sure that no one in the Lost Cities would recognize her, especially since only Neverseen members had seen how she looked like in the past twelve years._

 _Roaming around Lumeneria, she had heard some juicy information that Dame Alina, the headmistress of Foxfire, was making a very important speech._

 _She instantly took out her pathfinder and leapt to Foxfire._

 _Keeping close to the walls so that few would see her, she walked down Foxfire's hallways to the Assembly hall. It was then that a master plan suddenly popped up in her head._

 _Dame Alina was one of those stuffy nobles that Avy could not stand. And she was_ so _in for a shock._

 _While the students were all rushing to the Assembly Hall, Avy took a little detour that led to Dame Alina's mirror room of an office._

 _She sure loved to look at herself a lot. Such an egotistical noble._

 _Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a boy with cayenne-coloured hair and dark blue eyes that were watching her before he vanished into thin air._

 _A Vanisher._

 _She didn't care that he was most likely following her. He'd just be part of the audience for the magic show she was about to perform. Even if he tried to turn her in, he'd just sound crazy and Dame Alina would probably think it was him who did it._

 _After all, she did not exist in Foxfire. She did not exist in the Lost Cities. She had been banished nine years ago, and now, she was just a little ghost secretly roaming through the empty Foxfire hallways._

 _She recognised this place— she was in the territory of the Level Sixes. The level she could have been in a few years ago, if she hadn't been banished. Sometimes she hated returning to the Lost Cities, because everything there just reminded her of what could've been._

 _So Avy made it her goal to prank at least one of the stuffy nobles whenever she came to the Lost Cities to search for information that could be useful. A spy, you could call her, although she prefered the term 'covert operator'._

 _Earlier that afternoon, she had put an elixir in Lord Cassius Sencen and Quan Song's drink when they had their usual meet up. The elixir would make them become bald, which she was sure the two stuffy nobles would_ appreciate _. Avy wondered whether their sons would turn out like them when it came to their hair._

 _She quickly arrived in front of Dame Alina's office, and she flicked her wrist and stomped her foot at the same time, making the shadows around her come towards her and stand up tall and dark, covering her from the vision of anyone in the Lost Cities, elves who knew nothing about the elven skill of night vision._

 _She slid through the huge open gap of Dame Alina's office, wondering how much of an airhead she could be to leave her door open. There were Vanishers in this school who could easily sneak in just as she had, just as she was sure the boy from earlier had._

 _She quickly went over to where Dame Alina was, projecting her voice into the Assembly Hall._

 _Avy took a quick glance at her desk, on where she knew the information she was about to tell the school was._

Sora Heks: Banished, for she was incapable of controlling her ability

Soreas Heks: Banished, for following his sister to the Neutral Territories

 _Avy was instantly surprised at this information._ Heks. _As in Jin_ Heks _. They must be Jin's siblings! And banished? For the exact same reason Avy herself was banished too. And just after she was told that there would be two new Waywards tomorrow too. Guess she found out their identities._

 _Avy found herself getting excited to meet these kids that were so much like her in certain ways. Maybe she could somehow convince them to join her organization._

 _She was instantly snapped out of her daze when Dame Alina's voice streamed into her ears, signalling the start of her morning assembly announcement. She instantly let light break through and shine directly into her mouth, a grin appearing out of nowhere, like the Cheshire Cat from that human tale Alice in Wonderland._

" _Sora Heks and Soreas Heks h-_ Ahhhhhhh!" _Dame Alina screamed when she saw her creepy wide grin— and screamed yet again when Avy plunged her into darkness with the shadows in the office, making sure it was pitch black._

 _Removing the shadows covering her, she used them to make strong shields for Dame Alina, her, and where she thought the boy was standing, and the rest hovered over the mirrors, ready to break them into millions of pieces._

 _With a snap of her left hand, that was exactly what happened— thousands of shards of mirror glass flying everywhere. At the same time, she concentrated on not breaking the shadow shields and the shadows covering Dame Alina's sight, and reached out her shadow to the boy, shadow-whispering, 'Having fun?"_

 _A mental image of him jumping in fright surfaced in her mind, but in reality, she saw him lose concentration on staying invisible. She knew the shield, although strong, was not thick enough to block out his vision of her so she smirked at him, before strutting over to where Dame Alina was screaming and pounding on the shadows._

 _"This is Dame Alina speaking, sorry for the long wait, there were some... complications," Avy said into the projector, mimicking Dame Alina's voice perfectly, and making her sound completely not apologetic but crazy instead._

" _I thought I saw a— Hey! Don't eat the yellow crayons, you eat the black ones! — herd of flying sheep appearing in my office all of a sudden, turns out they were just stuffed toys. I love them by the way, they are so cute and soft, I'd be sure to sleep with all of them tonight, together with my old stuffed unicorn, can't find it. If you see a stuffed toy that looks like a unicorn around here, pass it to me, would you? Oh, and it has a horn, it's so different from other unicorns. Hahaha. I love all of you guys, so classes are cancelled for the week, have a wild break, and just a little advice, homework can be done much faster and more efficiently if it's done by a neon green kitten that you own," Avy rambled on and on and on, trying not to burst out laughing or break her concentration._

 _She let the boy out of the shield and waited for him to leave before she walked out and slammed he door shut._

 _They walked side by side towards the Assembly Hall for a while, before he broke the silence, asking, "You new around here?"_

 _Avy stopped for a moment before she continued walking. "I guess you could say that."_

" _And you're a Shade," he remarked._

 _Avy raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, I ain't no Vanisher."_

 _The boy smiled. "I reckon we'll be seeing more of each other soon, Miss Shade."_

 _Avy didn't reply. Instead, she turned on the heel of her boot and walked off in the opposite direction._

" _The gym's on the other side of the hall." The boy called out, stopping Avy in her tracks._

 _She just stared blankly at him. "What?"_

" _It's held in the gym, didn't you know that?" he asked, stopping to face me, confusion written across his face._

" _Oh, yeah. My memory would probably be the end of me," Avy joked— terribly at that._

 _The boy looked amused as he told her, "For a girl with long blonde hair, you sure don't act like a girl."_

 _Avy just stared at him. "Are you calling me a_ boy?"

 _The boy eyes widened and grew flustered, "No, no, just ignore me."_

 _Avy continued walking to hide the smug smirk on her face._

 _They walked into the assembly hall and many kids were clustered inside, whispering and laughing, no doubt because of what had just happened._

 _Avy's eyes widened in horror as she realized that she still hadn't released Dame Alina from her shadows._

 _She quickly pictured Dame Alina's mirror office before she stomped her foot, slid it sideways and then kicked it up, hoping that it would work despite the distance between them._

 _She looked up to see everyone staring at her like she was crazy._

 _Not that she wasn't actually insane._

 _Avy just gave them a small sheepish smile as a Mentor she didn't recognise approached her and asked her, "New prodigy?"_

" _Kind of, I joined when the new school year started, but I'm in the Golden Tower," Avy explained before mumbling softly to make sure no one could hear, "Those who are never seen are never found."_

 _Instantly, a sheet of paper appeared in her hands. At the bottom was a perfect imitation of Dame Alina's ugly signature. Avy was certain that she had just scribbled something to pass as a formal signature._

" _You're a Conjurer too?" the boy asked incredulously. Avy looked at him in surprise, but before she could say no, she realized that if people thought she was a Conjurer, there was no way they would suspect her._

 _So Avy smiled at him, nodding, before she groaned at the sight of the mountain of splotchers heaped before her. Of all the days she had to come, it had to be the day of Foxfire's famous annual Ultimate Splotching Championships. No wonder that boy was here, even though he was wearing a golden cape like the other Year Sevens._

 _Of course, as a Wayward, she was trained very well in her telekinesis, but she'd rather never do anything with it. She was no Telepath, so her telekinesis skills certainly weren't as strong as theirs._

" _Well then, Miss Ombré, welcome to Foxfire." the Mentor said, smiling down at her warmly._

 _Avy saw the boy stare at her in curiosity, saying, "You remind me of someone I once knew. Maybe that's why I chose to watch your prank."_

 _Avy, being used to the annoying rhymes that she saw from the Black Swan, rarely got confused by normal elves nowaday. But this boy didn't make much sense._

 _Then again, he probably wasn't a normal elf._

 _"A Shade with one of the strongest concentration and control I've seen in a long time,_ and _a Conjurer as well. You're stronger than you think, Miss Ombré." The boy said, calling her formerly because of the lack of knowledge of her name. Or at least, the name she went by here._

" _So… what's going on today? It's not everyday we have lessons in Foxfire, leaving the Golden Tower." Avy asked._

" _We're holding the school-wide Ultimate Splotching Championships. Usually, they leave the elite prodigies out because they want us to have more time to study, but this time, they want to emphasise on school spirit."_

" _Well, good luck to them then," Avy scoffed her reply._

 _The boy's reply was drowned out by the commotion of the amphitheatre. They joined the crowds of prodigies swarming in, and Avy's stiff and new uniform stood out immediately among the sea of colourful wrinkled uniforms, worn from years of wearing them. Everyone seemed to be staring at her, but even though Avy wasn't used to having so many people surround her, she did not to let it bother her._

 _The Mentors strode into the amphitheatre carrying huge sacks of tiny, brightly coloured balls, and as they walked in, everyone cheered. Except for Avy, that is._

" _Who's ready for the Ultimate Splotching Championship?" One of the Mentors shouted. She was compelled to clap along, but she felt that she was anything but ready for… whatever this was._

 _She eyed the coloured balls dubiously. "Are those tiny balls…_ splotchers?"

 _The boy nodded in reply, confirming her guess. "Yes, we push the splotcher at each other with telekinesis," he explained, "and whoever gets splattered loses. The winners play against each other until there's only one left, and that person wins. You're joining in too, I suppose. Well, then let's pair up with each other."_

" _Wait, what?" Everything was happening too fast for Avy to process. All she got from the boy's talking was that they had to make use of their telekinesis powers— and that was easy. Telekinesis was her forte, due to the fact that she used it almost everyday._

" _Everyone, on your marks," The same Mentor ordered. Another Mentor, a lady this time, approached Avy and the boy and handed the boy a splotcher. "Get set!"_

 _The boy lifted the splotcher with his mind, rather shakily in Avy's opinion, and tossed it toward her. Avy caught it easily, and pulling on the power deep within her core, she pushed the splotcher toward the boy, with a bigger force than she'd intended to. Miraculously, the boy managed to catch the splotcher, but he…_

 _Dropped it._

 _Avy groaned, and the boy slumped his shoulders, saying, "Well, that was an uneventful loss. See you around, and good luck, Miss Ombre."_

" _Yeah… thanks, see you soon too." Avy said, feeling the lie slip past her lips. She watched wordlessly as the boy melted into the crowd, leaving her standing all alone._

 _She'd never intended to get herself in such a big situation. She'd only wanted to prank Dame Alina, and hopefully, dig out some information which might be relevant to her— which she did, but then again, it wasn't really the most useful information, but now, she was stuck in Foxfire's amphitheatre with thousands of prodigies pitting against one another._

 _She wondered if she could somehow slip into the shadows and run away, but there were too many people watching. Then again, she probably should keep up pretending to be a prodigy. After all, she attended all her classes in the Golden Towers. The school held the most interesting secrets._

 _Surprisingly, it wasn't an order from the Neverseen, the group she belonged to. She knew her parents would want her to attend Foxfire, even if she didn't attend classes on most days— that was made possible with a pretty good lie and a forged signature for an excuse for her absence, of course._

 _Besides, she could already see a Level Seven prodigy make his way toward her._

" _Hi, I'm Elian," the Level Seven greeted. He had a golden cape pinned around his shoulders, like the boy._

" _Wil." Avy nodded back to him, not bothering with the usual 'hello'. She shouldn't have said anything though, because the boy—that sneaky little prick! —took advantage of her being distracted and pushed his pink splotcher towards her._

 _The boy named Elian smirked a little, but not in the spiteful manner Avy was used to. "Sorry. But don't worry, you look pretty in pink. See you later!"_

" _Ugh," Avy muttered, feeling pink goo drip from her wet hair and land on her shoes, deciding to ignore the boy instead of getting more attention towards herself by trapping him in her specialty, a shadow cage. She walked over to the little bleachers set on the sidelines, her eyes scanning the fallen prodigies. She found the boy sitting at a secluded corner, separated from everyone else. There was still green goo splattered on his face, a stark contrast to his dishevelled cayenne hair._

 _She made her way over, marvelling at how nobody tried to trip her as she walked past, and moved to sit beside the boy. "Hey. I lost right after you."_

 _The boy looked up, and blinked. "Oh. It's you. You lost to Elian? Really? That guy has one of the_ worst _control over his telekinesis powers."_

 _Avy rolled his eyes. "He took advantage of me while I was distracted, that's why."_ But I'm kind of impressed too. " _I guess this was harder than I thought it would be. Who usually wins these stuff?"_

" _Who? Oh, it's Matteo who's good at Splotching. Matteo Orimos. I mean, this is the Elites' first time joining, yes, but it's definitely going to be him. Before he went into the Elite Levels, he was the six-time champion of the Ultimate Splotching Championship. He's like, legendary. But… people say he only wins because he Mesmerises them into dropping the splotcher, you know?"_

 _Avy tried to look bored, but inwardly she was intrigued. It sounded like what someone from the Neverseen would do. Take full advantage of what they could do so that they come up on top. "Huh, really?"_

" _Yeah. In fact, he's who everyone's watching now. Look. He's facing off with Elian. Elian's his best friend. The best paired off with the worst? Obviously we know who's going to win."_

 _Avy turned her attention to the match the boy was discussing. Elian was standing a distance away from a boy clad in the shimmering silver Level Eight uniform. The look was completed with a long silver cape that almost reached down to his ankles. His back was facing Avy, so she couldn't catch sight of his appearance._

 _Elian threw the splotcher, and Matteo rebounded it back immediately like a boomerang. It whizzed through the air in lightning speed and hit Elian smack in the face._

 _Everyone cheered, but Avy's sharp ears sieved out an undercurrent of jeers and boos. It appeared that the boy was right about the scandalous rumours. Beside her, Avy heard a Level Six girl tell her friend, "He's just a cheat. What were the Mentors thinking, letting him join the championship so he could have it his way for the seventh time?"_

 _Avy pretended not to hear, even as the girl kept gossiping on about Matteo._

 _Before Avy knew it, almost everyone had been eliminated from the championship, leaving only Matteo, and a Level Five girl standing in the center of the amphitheatre. It seemed all too much like a battlefield, Avy thought. Now that she could see Matteo's face, neatly styled copper hair and electric blue eyes, Avy was a tad disappointed. He just gave off the goody-two-shoes vibes._

 _The Level Five was determined, but as expected, she wasn't up to Matteo's standard. She was quickly finished off, and the Mentors announced Matteo as the winner._

 _In the corner of her eye, Avy noticed the Level Six girl that had been sitting beside her rise from her seat and make her way down the steps of the spectators' stand. Normally, Avy wouldn't have paid her much attention as she could just be going to the washroom, but there was a purposeful way in which the girl held herself, like she wasn't just going to a simple trip to the toilet. But her attention was soon drawn away from the girl, as a lady Mentor called Matteo down for him to receive his prize._

 _As the prize— a pardon—was being handed over to Matteo, everyone in the amphitheatre clapped loudly, cheering for the silver-clad prodigy. Avy didn't bother, instead choosing to watch as Matteo received the pardon with both of his hands, bowing his head respectfully to the Mentor presenting him the prize. The pardon now in his hand, he started to walk away from the Mentor when—_

— _Suddenly, the pardon was knocked out of his hands by a seemingly invisible force._ Telekinesis, _Avy deduced, as Matteo recoiled, shocked, the abrupt disruption eliciting a plethora of scandalising gasps from the onlooking prodigies._ They're using telekinesis.

 _The Level Six girl emerged out of the chaos, her arm outstretched as she concentrated on levitating the pardon. With a flick of her wrist, the pardon fell into the Level Five girl's hand, the first runner-up of the championship. The Level Five girl, who was looking a little teary-eyed from her defeat, looked up at the Level Six, stunned._

 _Glaring at Matteo, the Level Six said, "Why, cheat, are you trying to get pardoned for cheating in the Splotching Championship? Did you honestly think you could get away with it?"_

 _The Mentor stepped forward. "Now, Miss Cheng, I don't think this— "_

 _The Level Six whirled on her. "Don't you see, Lady Alexine? Matteo only won because he was using his ability as a Mesmer to mesmerise us into dropping the splotcher! He is not the rightful champion of this competition._ Cerlyn _is."_

 _Beside Avy, the boy muttered, "Considering the fact that Cerlyn is her sister, I think she's just trying to make her sister the winner. Besides, everyone knows she's just going to snatch away the pardon from her to get out of her weekly detention."_

" _So you don't think Matteo is really using his Mesmeric powers?"_

" _No, not really. Please, Matteo is one of the nicest people I know here. And there aren't a lot of nice people in the world."_

 _His tone darkened, and Avy shot him a sideway glance. There were more layers to this boy than she had originally thought. Had he been hurt before too, like Avy?_

" _Sorry to interrupt," an idyllic voice called out, drawing everyone's attention away from Matteo and Cerlyn's sister and onto them._

 _Avy looked on as Elian stepped up from the first row of the spectators' stand, and walked to stand beside Matteo, slinging an arm around the older boy's shoulder._

 _He stared coolly at the Level Six as he told her, "Please leave Matteo out of this. He has never Mesmerised anyone out of bad intention, and he never would. You're the one who's trying to play it up to your advantage by accusing someone who's completely innocent. You can't accept that he's so good that he wins every time? Well, that's not his problem and he shouldn't feel obligated to listen to you. Just work harder next time. Who knows, maybe if you had, you'd probably have been able to beat him. But you didn't, so that's for you to deal with it. You leave us alone, and we'll leave you alone, alright? We don't need to fight."_

 _There was this one silent, pristine second in which everyone in the amphitheatre seemed to be holding in their breaths. And slowly, all the onlooking prodigies began to clap and cheer. Among it all, the Level Six stared at Elian for a very long time, then stared at Cerlyn, silently pleading with her not to fight anymore, and finally returned to gazing at Matteo._

 _She took in a deep breath, held out her hand and murmured, "I'm sorry. Truce?"_

 _Matteo smiled, shaking her hand affably. "Truce." And everyone applauded again, much louder this time, as the two elves smiled at each other, their past conflicts forgotten in that precious moment._

 _With the apparent huge commotion over, Avy sighed and dragged her legs for whatever class she had next all the way in the Golden Towers. Although Avy would much prefer seeing an elf destroy the school and blow up some stuff here and there— preferably Dame Alina's office of mirrors, who knew Foxfire could be so eventful? As for blowing up Dame Alina's office, Avy was hopeful that the day would come eventually._

* * *

Avy growled as she walked past endless rolls of dresses and gowns she had to wear during covert operations. She hated having to be stuffed into frilly dresses that made her feel like she was the meat in a human sandwich. How humans could eat meat, something from an animal that once alive? She had no idea. Avy may have killed people, but she could never imagine killing poor, innocent, little animals who could not defend themselves against bullies, that being the human race.

She started to feel like she was walking down an endless hallway even though she did this on a regular basis. She kept telling herself not to put her usual clothes all the way at the back, but yet she found herself walking forever a few times a day.

About a million light years later, Avy finally found her Exillium uniform stuffed in between a shelf of perfume. For once in her entire life, Avy was actually grateful to whichever elf that created perfume. She could not believe that humans thought they were smart enough to come up with such a brilliant invention.

Everyone in the Lost Cities knew that the Exillium Uniform stunk like unicorn faeces, even if they never came into contact with either before.

She sighed at the terrible fashion sense of the Coaches. She may not be girly, but even she couldn't stand terrible fashion sense. It may have been her favorite color, but the design of their uniforms was way too ugly.

Avy made a face as she wore the Exillium uniform for the 1634th time. She then adjusted her mask and threw on her hood, taking a sideways glance at her reflection in one of the mirrors. After making sure her appearance couldn't be seen, she strode out of her room and looked around at the empty corridor, heaving an exasperated sigh.

"Where _is_ that guy?" she muttered, folding her arms across her chest crossly. They hadn't really talked since their first conversation, much less discuss about where to meet, but Avy assumed that he should be gentlemanly enough to meet her right by her room. Even though it would be a little creepy of him.

Suddenly, two hands clamped onto her shoulders, making Avy turn around in shock, to see a boy who did not even bother to wear his hood correctly, with the hood coming out below, and his mask turned upside down standing there. There was also an obvious bright white stain covering half of his front.

Avy stared at him incredulously, before bursting out, "Are you kidding me? What are you, five? Wait, is your left shoe on your right foot? And what in Eternalia is that white stain. It looks so much like… Hey! You _dye_ your hair white every morning!?"

He scowled at her accusation, before quickly changing the subject not so subtly, "Come on, we're late."

Avy shook her head at him, "You ain't even wearing your uniform correctly. Go get changed, and stop being so ridiculous. You sure you're an elf?"

"Hey, I'm the one with two abilities. Not like a certain _someone_ who only has one." He retorted, and Avy didn't need to be an Empath to know that he was embarrassed.

Instead of replying, Avy simply stomped her foot on the ground, making a bunch of shadows wrap around him as darkness obscured his sight. With that, she spun on the heel of her boot, left him there, and went on her merry way to Exillium.

* * *

 **AUTHORS' NOTE**

Yo people, we're back from Neverland.

Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. Bye~


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

 _I am tired of being used, hurt, and tossed aside._

 **SORA STARED A** **T** the gloves in her hands until she was sure she was going to become cross-eyed. The Exillium gloves felt rough against her bare hands, not unlike the ones she'd been forced to wear to control her ability, and both pairs of gloves only reminded her of what an outcast she was.

She did feel like she was wasting her time in Exillium, though—and so did Soreas. Now that the adrenaline and excitement of the dramatic Tribunal had faded away, she honestly thought Soreas was being nothing but an idiot. She could take care of herself, new ability or not. And since she would be gone, Soreas could have had actually something to do for Mr. Forkle, which wouldn't brand him as worthless.

He hardly did anything for the Black Swan ever since Jin had joined those mysterious cloaked people, and Sora had a feeling that Jin was responsible. Soreas wasn't as close to Jin as Sora, but Sora knew that it was difficult for him. Not that it wasn't for Sora, but Sora's mind always chose to forget. Although she had no choice but to let the memories of Jin resurface once in awhile, but other than that Sora wasn't _that_ mentally traumatised.

Or so she thought, before the triggers set her new ability as a Terrakinetic off and destroyed everything she'd ever known.

Well, it didn't matter anymore. What was done, was done.

Sora looked out of the glass wall in the unfamiliar room she had been placed in. Not that she would ever have the time to familiarise herself with the Zoroks' extravagant estate. The first rays of sunlight were peeking out from the majestic volcano island, Sakurajima, which was away from the mainland. It casted the frothy waves of the ocean in an orange-yellowish glow and bathing her bedroom in sunlight.

She sighed. It was too beautiful a place, but the Zoroks had insisted on the Heks staying in their mansion for some reason, even if it was only for a single night. It was probably because Soreas was the best friend of their son.

Making up her mind and forcing herself not to think about anything anymore, Sora slipped on her ability-restricting gloves and then covered them with the midnight-black Exillium gloves, pulling the sleeveless grey vest over her shirt.

Her fingers closing around her Polyglot ability pin—a tiny pin bearing a purple background with pink lips and a white speech bubble, Sora attached it to the collar of her vest, and reached down again, brushing against the smooth surface of the Terrakinetic pin—an image of a majestic-looking Panakes growing on cracked, shattered ground.

The whole night, she'd been asking herself a single question.

 _Who am I?_

Right now, gazing at her frail, weak-looking reflection in the vanity mirror— something she wasn't used to being— Sora knew she was much, much stronger than this. And now, she had another answer.

She was a messenger for the Black Swan. She was the one who made Project Moonlark who she was today. She was a super-talented Polyglot. She had a brother who would walk with her till the end of the world. She was anything but a person who fit in society. She was a murderer. She was banished because her power had went out of control. And what was this legendary power which murdered her parents and made everyone shrink in fear at the slightest mention?

Sora bent down and kneeled on the carpeted floor of her temporary bedroom, her gloved hands grazing the flowers that had been woven into the strands of fabric. Despite the double layer of gloves trying to restrict her, trying to confine her into a box where she would never be satisfied, her determination and her power shone through, making the dainty daisies stretch out their petals even wider, growing more lucid by Sora's every touch. Leaves sprouted and unfurled out of the green stems, catching the fresh sunlight streaming in.

"You have to stop doing that."

A disemobided voice resounded in the air, and Sora jumped in shock, leaping up from the floor and turning around to face the speaker, only to see empty air.

Wait, what?

"I won't have you destroying my house too, just so you know." The voice seemed to come from nowhere, but Sora knew better than that. She heaved a sigh inwardly and closed her eyes, trying to find from where exactly the source of the voice was coming. Then she opened her eyes, narrowing them in concentration as she flicked her wrist, making one of the vines from the carpet lunge up and lash against something invisible yet solid.

The something let out a small, surprised yelp, and she knew she had him there. Splaying her hands and somehow entwining her power into the thick vine, Sora lassoed the Vanisher, capturing him tightly and letting him fall to the ground.

The Vanisher reappeared with a flash of light, and a boy lay on the ground, his arms firmly tied to his chest by the vines in the carpeted floor as he writhed on the floor, trying to force himself out of Sora's trap. Sora frowned at him, taking a few steps toward him, trying to get a closer look at him—

She yelped as something tugged viciously on her left foot, and she tumbled to the floor, half-landing on the boy. She tried to untangle her arm away from the boy's neck, and almost ended up suffocating him instead as he let out a few choked coughs.

So Sora gave up for the meanwhile and on the other hand, turned her head slightly to scrutinise him— it seemed like trying to get a closer look at him worked out even better than she thought it would— just… not in the way she would have preferred.

His messy, tousled hair was of the colour of blazing red, a stark contrast against his ocean blue eyes as they flickered over— and Sora sucked in a quiet breath when she locked gazes with him. It felt like she was looking at Sakurajima itself, and the peaceful, tranquil ocean surrounding it.

The boy— Kael Zorok, the Zoroks' son and Soreas's best friend— blinked at her as she tore her eyes away and concentrated, unraveling the tangled vines from his body and freeing the both of them.

Sora stood up, her cheeks burning as she made her way quickly to the dressing table again to brush her hair into a ponytail, before strapping her mask to her head and throwing on her cowl, casting her face in deep shadow. Pretending that nothing had happened.

She could feel the heat of the boy's gaze as she wrapped her waist with a silver belt and adjusted the shining chains around the collars of her grey vest. She was just about to finish strapping on her boots onto her legs when he opened his mouth to speak.

"For a girl like you, you don't seem much of a murderer to me."

Sora made no move to reply, instead brushing past him to make her way to the door. But his next words stopped her short.

"Then again, I've learned not to judge an elf by their appearance. It's not good to trust anyone, you know. The last time I did that, he betrayed me to join the dark side, never to return."

 _Just like Jin._

Sora turned around to face him, even though she knew he couldn't see her expression. "Well, now we know that you and I aren't as different as you think we are."

As she stalked out of her room, her victorious feeling faded abruptly when a whisper of an invasion, a wayward thought not belonging to her, prickled the back of her mind. That someone had entered her mind and messed around with her thoughts.

It was the subtlest of invasions, and no ordinary mind would've caught it.

But Sora's mind was everything but ordinary.

Sora whipped around again, just in time to see the door close on her.

* * *

"It's less than twelve hours since the Tribunal and you've already managed to flirt with two boys," remarked Soreas dryly in Japanese, staring at her through the little slits in his Exillium mask. "Can't say I'm impressed."

"It's been less than twelve hours since you've foolishly sacrificed everything you have for me," countered Sora crossly, folding her arms across her chest. "I'd like to say it's not too late for you to change your mind, but it _is_ too late already."

They were eating their breakfast in a small, separate guest room the Zoroks had provided for them. Despite only having been staying at their estate for a night and a little more, Sora's photographic memory had already memorised and mapped out the entire floor plan of the gallant mansion. Thus, she was pretty sure that the Zoroks were now dining in the room… right below them.

Her cheeks flamed as the intense stare Kael had given her resurfaced in her mind, and she ducked her head to hide behind her hair, only to realise her hair had been tucked back into her Exillium hood. Oh well, at least there was a mask to hide her embarrassment.

"You're blushing," Soreas noted, switching back to the Enlightened Language, tilting his head sideways as he scrutinised her. Sora tried to act normal as she picked her fork up. She might have stabbed the coriander stalk a little too hard, which wasn't helping her in trying to look nonchalant at all.

"I am not," Sora insisted, sending the food into her mouth and chewed meticulously, trying not to focus on Soreas. He had less trouble than her when it came to putting on the Exillium uniform, but Sora thought she had fared pretty well herself, especially when she considered the fact that she had done the second half of it in front of Kael Zorok, that rule-breaking Telepath.

He reminded her why she hated Telepaths so much. They liked to poke their noses into things which didn't concern them—or should she say _heads?_

The food tasted bad in her mouth. A gnome must have been taking a break. If only she could freely use her Terrakinesis to make them grow riper and more scrumptious. Yes, that would be great. Unfortunately, she wouldn't want the Zoroks to get the wrong idea. After all, she was now The Girl Who Had Destroyed a House. And she was also The Girl Who Killed Her Parents, but she didn't want to think of that anymore.

 _Forget, forget, forget,_ her mind chanted, twisting and turning the fleeting memories of the rubble crashing down on her until they dissipated from her mind, evaporating quickly.

Sora let out a relieved sigh, her tense shoulders relaxing.

"Speaking of boys, I hope you haven't forgotten about what happened with Elian Fellers yesterday," Soreas commented idly, causing Sora to jerk and spit out the half-chewed vegetable into his mask.

Choking on the remnants of the coriander still stuck in her throat, Sora had no choice but to listen to Soreas he continued, "He's one of the few people who actually like you and accept you for who you are. And he also basically… confessed to you, so that's a bonus."

Sora turned to look at him, her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "Confess what?"

It seemed like he was smiling, but Sora couldn't be sure.

Soreas ripped his mask off from his face, revealing his laughter-filled eyes as he retrieved a paper napkin from beside him to clean off Sora's spew. "You have an amazing projectile range—"

"I do _not_ ," interjected Sora. "Anyway, this isn't what we're supposed to be focusing on."

Her fingers flew up to cradle the single bead that had been woven into the chain necklace. It was long and heavy and cold to her touch, like it was trying to weigh her down both physically and emotionally. The tiny bead seemed so small, compared to the troubles she was facing right now. Then she looked back up at Soreas, like she was expecting him to say something in reply.

"I'm not leaving you behind," Soreas insisted, his voice growing louder and louder by each second, like he was trying to prove his point. "Besides, what's done is already done. You're my sister. You're my only family left. Why would I leave my only family behind? I would have nothing if I did that."

Sora stared at him for a stilted second. Then she stood up from her seat and raced over to the other side of the table to wrap Soreas in a big hug.

She felt like she needed her big brother now more than ever.

"Thank you, Soreas," she whispered, feeling weak tears prick her eyes and leak onto the fabric of his Exillium vest.

A cough behind them interrupted their moment, and the two siblings pulled away from each other and turned back to face Lucela Zorok. Rich coffee-coloured bangs framed her pale, powdered complexion, and her eyes were the colour of the midnight sky.

Wary, Sora watched as Lady Lucela approached them, two jade bracelets draped across the palm of her hand, the beads clinking merrily.

Sora supposed the pretty accessories were farewell gifts for them, but why did the Zoroks care so much for them? Well, other than the exception of Kael, they had been pretty nice to her and her brother, but what for? It wasn't as if they knew one another very well. In fact, she and Kael were on the opposite sides of the popularity scale in Foxfire. While Sora was laughed and jeered by all the prodigies, Kael was always the one surrounded by friends. While Sora had a niggling feeling that it was only because of his father, who was one of the few Emissaries, and the fact that he was double-talented, she couldn't help taking a discreet dislike to him.

Well, now that discreet dislike had already heightened to a strong hatred.

She loathed Telepaths who carried themselves in a haughty way, violating the rules of Telepathy wherever they went. She was only able to sense him poking around in her mind because of the incident that happened seven years ago.

She wasn't able to remember much because that had been the point where she'd just acquired her photographic memory, amongst other things. It was a blur of fractured memories. All she could remember was two adults pushing her out of the way as a savage unicorn crashed into them, but the impact had knocked them backward, making her stumble and hit the ground hard, her head receiving the brunt of the injury. As she lay there semi-conscious while the crowd surrounding the three of them discussed frantically about what to do, she saw a girl with chestnut brown hair rush toward the two adults, sobbing her heart out—

 _Mummy… Daddy… no… don't go, don't— go!_

"Sora," someone said, nudging her in the ribs. " _Sora_ "

Sora blinked, snapping out of her reverie and gasping for breath. Her head hurt and her eyes were filled with tears. She whipped her head around the room, trying to get a sense of where she was. Crystal walls, crystal chandeliers, crystal coffee table… Soreas… Kael... then her eyes landed on a full-length mirror beside her. Someone had removed her Exillium mask from her face, and her fingers flew up to her face as she carefully touched the wetness leaking down her cheeks, as if she couldn't believe her tears were real.

"Wa—" Sora's voice came out choked, and she tried again, clearing her throat this time before continuing, "Was I… _crying?_ "

"We didn't know what was happening with you," Lucela said from behind her. Their gazes locked in the mirror, and she continued, "You were shaking terribly and we had to set you down to sit, but it didn't seem to help. So we removed your mask and pulled back your hood and tried to wake you up. It was like you were sleepwalking."

"You experienced something like this too, during the Tribunal," Soreas said shakily. "I'm scared that it's something that would repeat itself again. Sora, you need help— that's why I'm here."

 _I don't need your help,_ she thought fiercely. _I'm Sora Heks, for Eternalia's sake._

But as that would make her sound arrogant, all she said out loud was, "It's really all right, Soreas. Anyway, aren't we running late?" She looked at Lucela pointedly, trying to make her get the hint that they needed to get out of her house.

Lucela nodded solemnly, but held out a hand as if to stop them. Gesturing for Sora and Soreas to hold out their hands, she gently attached a jade bracelet each to their wrists.

Sora held up the bracelet to the light of the chandelier, gazing at it in wonder as the light bounced off the gems threaded into the strong strings, the jade cool to her touch.

"What is this for?" she asked, the same time when Soreas inquired, "Why are you giving this to us?"

Lucela opened her mouth as if to speak, her lips forming a single word, before deliberating and changing it into another word. "I've heard about… your sister."

Both Sora and Soreas flinched at the last word as their minds processed what Lucela had just said. A blurry image of a girl appeared behind Sora's eyes, like she was about to fade from existence. Sora smothered the image and pushed it to the back of her mind, blinking her eyes as she stared at Lucela.

Soreas also shook off his troubled thoughts, and asked flatly, his voice void of any emotion, "What about her?"

If Lucela was bothered by Soreas's tone, she made no move to comment about it. Instead, she continued, saying, "The reason why we invited you here is because… we thought that you would be able to help Kael."

Sora gasped as Kael's previous words rang out in her mind.

 _It's not good to trust anyone, you know. The last time I did that, he betrayed me to join the dark side, never to return._

"He was betrayed," Sora said quietly.

It wasn't a question.

Lucela's pretty, perfect facade seemed to crumble right before her eyes, revealing a broken, beaten mother who was worried sick for her only son. She nodded sadly, but there was something else in her eyes that made Sora suck in a sharp breath. Was it anger, rage, or frustration, she couldn't tell.

But they were the same feelings both she and Soreas had experienced when Jin had turned her back on them.

"His biggest dream back then was to become an Emissary for the Council," Lucela said bitterly, her fisted hands shaking terribly as her eyes misted with tears. "The thing is, he didn't decide to be an Emissary by himself. No, he was inspired by his friend— the person he thought was flawless— the person who meant the world to him.

"His Friend wasn't much of an Empath. His talents laid somewhere else. He was one of the smartest elves running to be at the top of the Foxfire Entrance Examination rankings. After all, his dream was to become an Emissary.

"But it all changed for the worse when he manifested as a Pyrokinetic. Everyone who had ever looked up to him began to avoid him. Well… everyone except for Kael. He was still extremely fond of his friend, and he didn't want to let go. His friend, however… well. All I can say is that bullying doesn't do any good to anyone, and he started to shun away from Kael as well.

"I understood that he was trying to get Kael away from him so Kael wouldn't get hurt, but my son, being the naive person he was, kept going after him. He thought that if he tried hard enough, he would get to him. Everyone soon grows to understand that nothing lasts forever. Not even elves." Lucela exhaled shakily, before continuing. Sora bit her lip, sensing the unfortunate end of the story slowly drawing near.

"Everyone had heard of some force of rebellion that was slowly rising through the ranks, but nobody chose to believe it. After all, why would they? The idea of opposition is simply unheard and unspoken of among the elvin race. Everybody thinks that we're perfect, but then again, nobody has ever tried to look through the curtains.

"He joined the rebellion just recently and vanished, never to be seen again. His family also disappeared with him, and nobody bothered to look into it… because they had a Pyrokinetic amongst them. That's all I knew. I believe Kael knows more of the story than anyone else, but that's just because he's directly involved in it. He hates him now. He's never been the same person he was since then. That… that's why I invited you two to stay here, right before you vanish forever like his friend did. He knows your backstory as well. I thought he would feel like he's not so alone after all, and try to relate to you… but he's not seeming to budge. Well… I tried." Lucela looked more defeated than Sora had ever seen her, and it felt like a razor-sharp knife had pierced through her heart.

"I went to the Tribunal yesterday, and Kael came along. What that Fellers boy had said was trying to tell me something. We should give out our love to other people unconditionally, and look beyond the flaws. Even if they are a million miles apart, we should never forget them."

 _Elian? Huh, I thought he was only spouting rubbish._

Sora wrinkled her nose, while Soreas pinned her with a penetrating stare, like he was trying to read into what she was thinking about Elian.

He didn't have to worry.

She had eyes for another.

Lucela cleared her throat when both Sora and Soreas said nothing. "I gave you these bracelets so we could keep in touch. These aren't as functional as Imparters, of course, but these were what we used a long, long time ago, way before Imparters and Leapmasters were even invented. You should only use them when an emergency calls for it. I just wanted to let you know that the Zoroks will always be right behind you."

"Even after him?" Sora asked tentatively, her heart palpitating loudly. She now knew one of nameless rebels' backstories, their motives. She had to find a way to tell Mr. Forkle. Beside her, Soreas also looked troubled, like he was thinking about the same thing as her.

"Even after him," promised Lucela. "Now, you are running late. It wouldn't bid well for you to display tardiness on your first day of Exillium. I've heard the Coaches are extremely hard on the Waywards."

 **AUTHORS' NOTE**

So... we're not dead. On the verge of death, but not just yet.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

 _Mysteries and lies. They make up what I am._

Shrugging off the disgusting Exillium uniform, Corey fumed at the unfairness of her situation. It was bratty of her, but she was in a foul enough mood to not care. It wasn't just the fact that life at Exillium was as terrible as ever, it was the fact that Ayagi failed to tell her that two new people would be moving into Huldlot.

Corey lived at Huldlot for a good eight years, visited for even longer, but apparently she wasn't part of the family enough for Ayagi to trust her with even something as inconsequential as this.

Maybe Ayagi simply forgot, but it still stung.

 _This is for Mum and Dad. This is for them._

Repeating her ever-ready mantra in her head, she held the uniform a good ten inches away, narrowing her eyes at the way it hung soggily from her fingers. Bleugh. It still retained that smell of unicorn crap, even though she washed it. Twice. With her own freaking ability!

 _Speaking about the Black Swan…_

Corey tried to recall to the moment when she returned from the Neverseen hideout.

" _Aya, please, it's urgent! Aya!"_

 _Corey was begging Ayagi, the news that she bore making her desperate. But she was refused. With good reason, of course. Well, the last time Aya let Corey talk to Mr Forkle through Corey's imparter, things… have not gone well. No one ever dared to speak of that incident. Thank goodness for Sevadís. Another reason why Corey MUST get them together. Sev lets her do just about almost anything. Well, anything that isn't life threatening, that is._

 _When Corey finally managed to contact Mr Forkle, she was so tense that instead of offering a proper greeting, she immediately blurted, "I've just returned. They've initiated him. A Pyrokinetic." A brief shake of her head completed her report._

 _As she tried to catch her breath, she heard Ayagi and Sevadís gasp in horror. But she ignored them, too preoccupied to care about their reactions._

 _It was the second time Corey had seen Mr Forkle show any kind of emotion similar to the look he was currently wearing. His eyebrows were furrowed, with a look of intense concentration in his face. It made Mr Forkle… seem like a normal elf, instead of the enigmatic head researcher of Project Moonlark._

 _The first time she'd seen this exact expression on his face was when she first requested to join the Black Swan, back when she was only nine._

" _Thank you,_ _Dolja_ _," was his eventual bland reply. Mr. Forkle always addressed her with her Black Swan codename. "I'll make sure we will be prepared for a third strike anytime. In the meantime, has Verbouge informed you about the latest incident yet?"_

Huh? Has Ayagi informed her about what? _Her confusion must've shown on her face, as he shook his head and said, "Recently, two of our Black Swan members, Himitsu and Espair have been exiled, due to Himitsu's loss of control over her newly acquired powers. Verbouge has already arranged them to live in Emissary Laraynna's estate. They will be under the protection of_ _Dölja_ _, who would be tasked with preventing them from being ejected from Exillium." Corey received the message loud and clear. On top of her spying mission, she had to keep two more kids in line. Great._

 _She highly doubted she would be able to handle them. She can't do kids. They're just not her thing.(The last time Aya had friends with kids under the age of eleven, things did not go down so well. Corey was relatively sure that that poor kid was traumatized.)_

 _He continued talking. "Further information has already been sent to you via Imparter. Make sure they're kept safe. They are a very valuable asset to the organization, the girl in particular. You are also required to report tomorrow for a more detailed briefing on your next actions. That's all for now. Good luck and goodbye."_

That was just yesterday.

Holding the mask in her hands, she traced its outline, the only thing that she thought was okay about the uniform. _Oh no…_ As another bout of panic washed over her, Corey heaved a huge sigh, reached into her pocket, and took out her Imparter, rereading the information on the two exiled elves for the third time today.

* * *

 **SORA HEKS**

 **Name:** Sora Heks

 **Age:** 17

 **Ability/Abilities:** Terrakinetic, Polyglot

 **Background Info:** Attacked by an rampaging unicorn at the age of eight. Resulted in mutated mind. Inspiration for Project Moonlark. Attended Foxfire Academy as messenger for the Black Swan before manifesting as a Terrakinetic. Caused a massive earthquake, destroyed her house, and killed her parents due to loss of control. Deemed as Unworthy and banished from the Lost Cities to become a Wayward at Exillium.

 **Things to Take Note of:** Interact with caution. Highly volatile and unstable. Feels more at ease with brother. Highly unsociable and quiet.

 **Triggers:** Complete families; sisters; twins; gold; tight spaces (claustrophobia)

* * *

 **SOREAS HEKS**

 **Name:** Soreas Heks

 **Age:** 19

 **Ability/Abilities:** Guster, Polyglot

 **Background Info:** Was close to his younger sister Jin before she left the Black Swan. Was caught in an ogre attack in the Neutral Territories when under the care of the Black Swan a few months after. Chose to be banished along with sister Sora Heks (refer to previous attachment).

 **Things to Take Note of:** A good debater, likes to talk his way out of situations. Do not engage in verbal conflict. Immensely powerful. Does not realise limits of his own power. Do not let him know until further orders. Do not engage in battle.

 **Triggers:** Complete families; sisters; gold; ogres

* * *

 **General Precautions:** _Cordelia Malum must not know of their identities._

* * *

 _So they're the ones who got exiled, huh…_ Thinking to herself, Corey turned around, looked into the mirror, and started tucking her hair under her hood. _But at least they're around my age, and not a bunch of ten-year-olds._ Thinking and thinking about age, she couldn't help but repress a shiver that suddenly ran down her spine.

She wondered, just how was a 17 year old girl still able to manifest such a powerful ability?

Hearing a knock on her door frame, she turned around, only to see a giant black bear standing at her door.

"So, I presume you heard about my latest mission?" she asked the bear cheerfully, turning the Imparter screen off and putting it back into her pocket carefully.

She only received a low growl in reply. A flash of light, and Sevdaís stood leaning against the doorway instead of the black bear, concern flashing in his eyes.

"Be careful," he warned. "From what I heard… the girl hasn't received any proper training over her abilities. And she holds great potential, if the fact that she accidentally destroyed her home and killed her parents is any indication. And the boy… he's equally powerful, and he was a very high ranked Foxfire prodigy, which means he uses his head. He's also very protective of his sister, and both of them together make a dangerous pair. We wouldn't want you to get hurt now, would we?"

Feeling a lump rise up in the back of her throat, she choked out, "Thanks, Sev. But relax— aren't they on the same side as us?" _Members of the Black Swan,_ Mr. Forkle had called the two siblings. _Assets of the Organisation._

Hearing that, Corey noticed Sevadaís' bright blue eyes cloud over, shadows casting them into a deep shade of indigo. "Yes, they are, but… you never know. Besides, the girl… she lost control once already, who knows what will happen if she loses control again at Exillium?"

"Well, then she has yours truly to keep her in line, isn't that's what I'm here for?" Replying with a smart ass comment normally didn't help with the situation, but Sev seemed to relax a little, cracking a smile.

"Yeah, I know that, stay safe, okay kiddo? I gotta go, so… see ya!" With that, he held his pathfinder against light streaming from the window, and vanished.

Once he was gone, Corey was instantly hit with a wave of gratitude. Sevadís had completely willingly taken up the role of her father, so that she would grow up relatively normal. She was, after all, his best friend's daughter. Bits and pieces of her past came rushing back to her.

" _Daddy!"_

 _A little girl, no more than eight, rushing across a sea of grass. She was immediately swept up in her waiting father's arms, swinging the girl around. "Hey kiddo, how was Aunt Aya's?"_

Her father, Stark Malum. He was a five-foot-seven, broad-shouldered Charger. He once worked in the Sanctuary, bringing information about their creatures to the Black Swan. A valuable asset, and was rumored to hold valuable information about a secret project that the Black Swan was working on.

 _A tinkling laugh sounded from the girl's right. The man set the girl down and turned around, revealing a beautiful woman with glittering icy eyes._

Her mother, Chari Malum. Lithe, graceful, strong. An extremely powerful Froster who graduated from Foxfire as one of the highest ranking elites in her year. While everyone thought of her as just a normal housewife, her amazing control over her abilities made her a very valued and feared member of the Black Swan.

" _Of course she had. It's Ayagi, and Sevdaís is around. She loves them."_

Unbeknownst to others, her mother was a very kind person deep inside, always working for the sake of the ones she loved.

" _Even though," she added, "I have no idea why."_

… Most of the time, that was. But they were the best parents she could ever had, and she wouldn't trade them for all in Eternalia. When their light faded from existence, never had she, in her nine-and-a-half years of living, felt so much sorrow and pain. She had begged Mr Forkle to Wash away her memories a few years later, on a particularly painful anniversary, but he had refused. She was heartbroken. How could he? It… it was her fault, after all. If she hadn't insisted on going out, then maybe, just maybe, they would still be alive…

Shuddering, she pulled herself from her memories, finding herself breathing heavily. This always happens, whenever she thinks of her parents. But it was her fault. She knew that Mr. Forkle knew that elves weren't equipped to handle guilt, so _why_ in the fucking world did he refuse? All he did was to leave her with a confusing parting sentence: "Keep that guilt, that anger in you, and hold that ball of emotions in. When the time is right… let it all out."

What the hell did _that_ mean?

Although she knew it was unbecoming of her to question Mr Forkle's words, but damn, was she curious. But every single time she brought the subject up, he either changed the subject, or glared at her so badly _she_ trembled in her black knee-high, lace-up boots that Kael had given her for her fifteenth birthday.

Lesson learnt. _Never_ try to insult or question Mr. Errol Loki Forkle. Unless you were one of his 'kids'. _Ahem._

But that wasn't all. It wasn't just her parents that died, she found out, but someone else as well. Someone not even properly introduced to this world yet.

Her unborn baby brother.

Thinking of him only made the guilt, the humiliation, the _anger,_ increase in tenfold. He was only five months old, and she single-handedly assisted in killing him.

Maybe that was why she was so bad with little kids— because they reminded her of him. God, she remembered how she always begged her parents for a younger sibling, but now? She couldn't even look at a kid under the age of eleven in the eye without being reminded of that incident. That was how old he would be…

If he had survived.

Oh no, what was she doing, being reminded of this incident? _What's done is done, there's no other choice but to move forward now._ She tried to force her emotions down, but to no avail. Inside her, something snapped. Beneath her feet, something else did too. _Oh shit… she's gonna yell in 3… 2… 1…_

"CORDELIA!" Ayagi's yell, mixed with the howling of very pissed off dog, resonated through the whole house. Oh, whoops. Not again.

Rushing downstairs, she found herself with one very wet and pissed guardian and one wet and pissed puppy. Uh oh. This was _not_ going to turn out well…

"Oh… hey guys…" Waving her hands around, she gathered all the excess water on the floor and sent it out of the window. Yeah… well, she'd better call one of the dwarves to help fix the water pipes… again.

Once the floor was clean and dry, a golden ball of fluff launched itself at her, fangs bared. She barely managed to dodge the ball of doom by a hair's length and rushed back up to her room, which in itself, was a good thing.

She had found Lluvia in the human world, shivering and cold in the rain, trying to hid from the water under a pile of cardboard boxes. Growing up in an eccentric household like theirs, the dog had become a complete brat, which naturally led to Lluvia "spilling" (more like purposely pouring) random potions in her hair. As a result, crispy hair. Hardee Har Har.

Looking at the time, she sucked in a chilling breath in horror. Oh damn, she was going to be _so_ late!

Like a bolt from the blue, she grabbed her ever-ready-Black-Swan-only purse from the false bottom of her chest-of-drawers, checked her reflection in the mirror, and rushed to the window. All within 30 seconds. Must have been a new record.

Corey gripped onto the edge of the windowsill, took a deep breath, _and leaped out of the window._ Just before the ground could get the chance to welcome her with its open arms, she pulled out her pathfinder from her jeans pocket, held it up to the light, and yelled, " _Samag_!" In a flash of light, she was gone.

In a matter of seconds, she rematerialized several thousand meters away from home, the middle of a sandy desert with the wind whipping in her face, along with it, sand. Nothing was seen for miles around her, except for a lone, solitary boulder. Landing solidly on her feet, she smiled to herself. _Bingo._ As she focused her mental energy on that solitary boulder, she gave her brain a little push. The boulder shifted, just a little, the minute grains flowing into the gap that was once hidden by the massive boulder. Now grinning in confidence, she gave the boulder a shove _._ The boulder rolled away, revealing a massive hole only slightly smaller than the boulder.

Pulling another black hooded cloak from her bag, one drastically different from her Neverseen disguise, Corey shrugged it on, its weight falling heavily over her shoulders.

Once feeling that the cloak was in place, she clicked a button hidden in the collar of the cloak, feeling the cloak stiffen around her. Thank _goodness_ for technology. Well, that and elixirs. Holding her breath, she jumped into the wide, gaping mouth in the floor.

She entered with a splash.

Corey was sinking, going all the way to the bottom of the cavern pool. A bit like that book she read on a recent jaunt to the Forbidden Cities. What was it called again? Oh yes, it was, um... Alice in the Wonderland! Ah, good memories.

She remembered the time that she snuck off to the Forbidden Cities, only to crack open a book that read: " _The rabbit hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well. Either the well was very deep or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as as she went down to look about her, and to wonder what was going to happen next._

A very curious book indeed. Talking rabbits and mock turtles and card soldiers. Humans certainly had a very… unique imagination.

She remembered another book that she opened. A middle school science textbook. Humans needed air to breathe, a unique combination of nitrogen and oxygen, which can be viewed as a waste product of photosynthesis. So did elves. But there's no time to dwell on her jaunts to the Forbidden Cities now. First priority - air.

Summoning what's left of her remaining strength, she raised a wave of water, and slapped it against the water surface. Bubbles came streaming down the water. Precious, precious air. At least she can control (sort of) the air in the water. She controlled the water surrounding the air bubbles, straining to control the hundreds— no, _thousands_ of bubbles, holding them stock still in the water.

Physically groaning in the water, she pushed the tiny bubbles together, creating a large bubble of air, and she set it on her head.

Three cheers for oxygen!

Although being in the water _did_ give her an edge over a normal elf….

After she had sunk deep enough, she spotted a dark hole, black as pitch, gaping from the side of the pool. Drawing another breath of air from the gradually shrinking bubble of water, she propelled herself towards the hole immersing herself in pitch-black darkness.

A complete lack of light forced her to rely on her other senses, and she forced her heartbeat to slow. The darkness reminded her of the time when… _no_.

As she gently trailed a hand against the rough stone wall of the tunnel, she gently propelled herself forward. _This is not the time for a casual swim. Focus, Corey._ She used the presence of the water to her advantage, sensing where the water thinned out and steering away from it.

Less than ten minutes, she resurfaced, the water still surrounding her, only to find herself in a glittering, sparkling crystal cavern. Standing at the edge of the pool was the Boss himself, in all his wrinkled glory. Checking the silver timekeeper in his hands while she busied herself with surrounding herself with a thick mist, he recorded, "Nine minutes and forty-nine seconds. Good. You passed."

A rush of anger suddenly coursed through her veins, and she couldn't help but sneer, "So. That's it? I _passed?_ In case you've forgotten, the last time you told me that I 'passed', I was removed from duty for 2 months until you deemed me 'physically fit'." She was seething, and the uncomfortable cloak didn't help to improve her temper.

He did not seem the least perturbed, and only continued, "I had expected nothing less from you, being our youngest co-op member. It is necessary that you be highly trained in all aspects of stealth, adaptation, observation, social interaction, and independence, among others. Being the youngest, it was— still is— necessary too that you be more strictly trained than your fellow spies, as you are required to undergo more covert operations, reason being that the rest are recognizable adult members of society and you are not. Therefore, you, pose a greater risk of being caught by the enemy—"

He was suddenly cut off by Corey rudely rolling her eyes and scoffing, "And risk revealing our position, of course. Contrary to popular belief, I do know the importance of my position, and incredibly well too. Unfortunately due to a certain _someone.._."

Mr Forkle could only lift an eyebrow in response. "So, Dölja, the reason why I asked you to come," he continued, skillfully ignoring her scoffing, and continuing, "is that our enemy, may have made Mr. and Miss Heks their next targets. Out of all our members, they are in some of the greatest danger that could happen to them. They have a twin sister working for the enemy. More specifically, Miss Heks has a twin sister— Jin Heks. They look identical, save for their eye colour."

"Wait. So. You're saying that the sister is in cahoots with the enemy," Corey suddenly interrupted, while frantically going through her head to remember why her name sounded familiar _._ Suddenly, she realised, with growing horror, who that was.

Jin Heks. With dark, dangerous aquamarine eyes and a toned but lithe figure, the Telepath had the reputation of being the best female fighter in the formidable enemy organisation.

Corey had never personally approached her before— she wasn't supposed too, and even though she would deny it to her grave, she didn't _dare_ to.

She was always seen standing next to the leaders, and it was clear that they treated Jin as somebody who was actually worth their undivided attention. They clearly had plans to involve her in their big operation, and that alone already spoke volumes about her position in the organisation's hierarchy.

Corey hadn't had any particularly huge qualms about Jin, and she didn't really understand why the leaders were so focused on her— after all, anyone could learn fighting, and her Telepathic ability might be strong— stronger than hers— but it was a well-known fact that there were stronger Telepaths out there. But _now_ that she knew Jin was an almost exact copy of a member of the Black Swan, Corey knew how dire the circumstances really were.

Ah, quiznak.

She, a member of the enemy, could sneak into the territory of the Black Swan, acting as her twin, the Black Swan member, to dig out everything she needed to know about the inside workings of the Black Swan. She would be a perfect spy. In fact, Corey would be surprised if the leaders hadn't put her up to that.

 _Or…_ Jin had already been a spy for a long time already. An undetected, and a very careful spy.

It was at that very moment, Corey knew she and the Black Swan had officially fucked up.

If the Heks are related to _her_ , then…

Her head shot up to meet the gaze of Mr. Forkle, her face paling in horror and her mouth hanging open. Gulping nervously, she started, "You do realise that it isn't the best idea to send the siblings of an enemy spy over? Not only would it pose the risk of leakage of information, leading to catastrophic consequences, it would also result in the destruction of the organization from the inside— did I mention _catastrophic consequences?_ Yeah sure, send the spy's doppelganger over to one of the most top secrret, information-heavy locations in the world, in which may result in the downfall of the Black Swan if the information found inside is spread to the wrong hands. What could possibly _go wrong_? "

Mr. Forkle, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed. "We have, of course, taken that into consideration, but it would only lead to more _complications_. The Collective has decided that the safest route of action would be for the Heks to temporarily stay at Verbouge's place of dwelling until it is safe enough for us to transfer them to a more protected area. And during the weekends, they will be staying at Alluveterre, as Miss Heks needs a Terrakinesis Mentor."

 _Translation: when everyone has forgotten all about this little 'incident', which could take… years. Decades. Maybe even centuries._

Corey half-wanted to read his mind right there and then to find out what exactly was this 'more protected area' of his that she didn't know the slightest thing about, but refrained from doing so. After all, he was a much more talented Telepath than she was, and he would immediately be able to feel her poking around in his mind.

And sometimes, she really didn't want to know what was going on in his head. Ignorance was bliss, they said— and she knew that too well.

One such case was the reasons behind the poor quality of education in Exillium. It wasn't because they wanted to torture them. It was due to a mere lack of funding. Long ago, Exillium was a lovely school, aimed in aiding elves back on the straight and narrow. Although there were several successful cases, such cases were few, with most of their attempts ending in vain. Thus, most donors cut off funding, believing that those elves were hopeless, and that their money could be used for greater purposes than raising future criminals, leaving with only the Council funding them. But that money alone was not enough. Admittance rates in Exillium were rising, but the amount of funding did not. Perhaps it was enough a century ago, but the elven population spike, which in turn triggered the human population boom, only at an immensely larger scale, left Exillium cash-strapped. And that was only the beginning.

She wished immensely to help improve their dire situation if only for the sake of herself, but she couldn't, lest her cover be blown. Her hands were tied.

Seeing the look that Mr. Forkle was giving her, she had no choice but to groan loudly and bitterly mutter: "Fine! I shall keep an eye on them, and to befriend them. But I have no guarantees. I highly doubt that a Black Swan member would open up to a random civilian but…I will try."

"And? I called you here with the impression you had _something_ to tell me." Cue the response, with the raised eyebrow.

"And… ah, the new guy?" Sheesh, she knows that Mr. Forkle loved to be secretive and all, but sometimes, she really wished that Mr. Forkle would just _say_ things out loud, not just _imply_ them.

She transmitted the memories gathered from her short trip to Mr. Forkle, an easy task compared to her previous one, and stepped back to watch the show.

The dread was rising from her gut, bubbling up in her throat. _This cannot be good._

Without a single reaction on his face, it only meant one thing: this guy was probably unregistered elf; a new elf who managed to stay under the Council's radar even after manifesting as a Pyrokinetic, _and_ since there were no missing posters about this dude, either his whole family's dead or his family _really_ hates him.

She was willing to bet that it was the former. The enemy organisation had a lot of messed up people like that. Hey, with a cruel psychopath as its leader, what did you expect? All sunshine and pink fluffy unicorns?

Sighing heavily, she remarked, "You don't recognise him either, do you? His face was a little blurry, since I only saw his face for a few seconds, but he doesn't seem familiar to me." Pity a photographic memory wasn't one of her many gifts, or else she would've captured that face down in her head in excruciating detail, ready to track him down whenever opportunity striked.

"Well, thank you for your contribution, Dölja. We will be sure to keep an eye out for him." He interrupted Corey's incessant rambling, before turning back to face her. "It is advisable for you to lay low for these few days at the enemy.I highly doubt they would take kindly to one of their members slapping their newest, and most potentially dangerous, recruit. Chalking it up to hormonal changes would be apt…"

She felt the blood rushing to her face, the heat radiating from it like a furnace. _Hormonal changes?!_ This guy was practically old enough to be her great-great- _great_ grandad! Having The Talk **TM** with Ayagi was embarrassing enough. But _this_? This brought things to a whole new level of awkwardness. Damn… what did she do to end up in this situation?

She caught the glint of light flashing in his eyes, with the tiny flashing light, nearly completely hidden by the jagged stone walls. _Ah._ Another test. One testing her on her reaction to unforeseen situations. Very sneaky, Mr. Forkle. Very sneaky. Well, she hoped that her performance would be up to par.

Dipping her head, she tried to hide a grin as she replied, "Very well, I shall do as you ordered." Straightening herself, she turned to leave, stepping back into the water, at the same time, slipping into her 'Dölja' personality, her head held high.

She had taken only a few steps back into the water when she whipped around, seemingly remembering something. "Mr. Forkle," she began coolly, "I would advise you to not suggest that excuse to many. Others, aren't as open-minded as I am, and they might be insulted. 'Tis is a flimsy excuse. After all, ' _hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'_ A woman's anger knows no limits." She dipped her head slightly, a gleaming smirk half-hidden in the shadow of her hood. Good day."

Her piece already said, she turned back around, and sank into the water, becoming one with it, allowing the currents to bring her back to the entrance.

Rising out of the water like a nymph, she slowly guided the water to drop her at the edge of the cavern entrance, all the more musing over what she had learnt.

She doubted that Mr Forkle had told her everything, but that was just what he was like: never putting all his eggs in one basket. She counted herself lucky for knowing so much. Well, enough was enough. The sun was rising high in the sky, and she'd better get home soon. This was so not what she signed up for, but what could she do? It's a hive mentality in Black Swan. _One for all, all for one._ If she doesn't do her job properly, she may be ejected from the Black Swan, her memories wiped. And that wouldn't do. Corey needed the support of the Black Swan if she wanted to take the enemy down.

Sighing for the millionth time, she pulled out her pathfinder, and muttered, "Huldlot."

Bitter thoughts swept into her mind, numbing her as the light whisked her back home.

 _It's going to be a long day._

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys, it's Yvonne here. So...school's starting again tomorrow, and we may or may not have an update planned. A little motivation may help...but does anyone wants to learn necromancy?

By the way, this story is set ten years before the events of Keeper of the Lost Cities, so Sophie's currently five in this storyline. Yes. She's five.

It's been seven chapters, yet we've haven't seen any interaction between our girls. What do you think will come up next?


	8. Chapter 8

_Who are you, behind that mask?_

They materialised on the sandy path of a desert, their clumsy feet stumbling over sandrifts.

Sora coughed out the little grains of sand that had took up residence in her throat, the swirling, hot and sticky wind clinging relentlessly on her Exillium uniform. With her hand clasped against Soreas, Sora felt her heartbeat rise to a fever pitch, thumping faster and faster against her chest. But despite that, it felt like her whole world had switched to slow motion, her footsteps stuttering to an abrupt stop.

Sora's mind wasn't fully focusing on the things that were happening right now, instead wandering off to the secret conversation she and Mr. Forkle had had last night, right before she had dozed off. She didn't know whether only one person was in the Black Swan, but at least she knew they would have a safe shelter under their heads as they attended Exillium.

"So… this is it," mumbled Soreas in Maori, snapping Sora out of her daze. His gaze wandered off to the giant raven-black arch, which swept over the cloudy sky, looming over them ominously. An glimmering oasis sat itself right under the arch, and Sora was sure that it wasn't a mirage.

Though she wished that her life could become a mirage instead. Her life— it wasn't worth living at all. It was hard to get high when she was living at the bottom, and the bonus of getting banished from the Lost Cities didn't help at all.

She wished her life was just a mirage.

She wished it wasn't real.

She wished she could forget.

But she didn't say that.

If she said that, everyone would judge her so badly that she wouldn't be able to take it no longer.

She sighed.

"Stop speaking in Maori. You know I hate it when you speak in a Polynesian language. I find their languages hard to understand, so don't give me a life that's even harder than _this,"_ Sora muttered, her grip tightening on Soreas' hand. "So, how are we supposed to announce our… um, arrival?"

The hills and mountains of sand surrounding them seemed fairly empty, except for ripples that drifted through the air due to the intense heat of the weather. The Exillium uniform also didn't help as she looked around with bated breath. Wind swirled the sand into her eyes and her nose and her mouth, making her cough and blow her nose and choke. But besides that, the desert seemed to be completely _deserted._

Sora didn't have the energy to laugh at her own pun.

When Soreas didn't answer, as the desert continued to hold its breath, Sora repeated her question, louder this time, "Hello? Anyone here? If so, we're here. Do you have any idea we're here? Or do we need to announce our arrival to you?"

All of a sudden, a hundred different sounds of laughter drifted through the air, wafting into her ears, taunting her. Sora caught her breath and looked around, yet still saw nothing. It was as if they were hiding in the sands beneath their feet, projecting their voices to seem like they weren't there.

"You don't need to," a whispery voice rasped into her ear from behind her, making her scream and back away a few steps, only to trip backward over a rock. She flailed her arms wildly, trying to regain her balance. Beside her, Sora could feel Soreas stiffen ever so slightly. "We already know."

Before Sora could whip around to see who the voice belonged to, she was stopped short by a harsh cackle.

"Welcome to your Dividing."

And she was plunged into darkness.

* * *

Avy knew she had a half-smirk plastered on her face when she got to Exillium, thinking about how the new kid was going to get out of the shadow shield. He wouldn't want to be late. Especially not for the most exciting Dividing in Exillium History, in which he himself would be a very special guest.

She saw the Ambi Coach, whom she never bothered to remember the name of, look at her, before she heard her in her mind. " _You know what to do?"_

Avy stretched out her shadow to the Coach in Purple and shadow-whispered in the most cheerful way she could, the way that homicidal maniac humans can, "Nope."

She was certain that the Coach sighed at her answer before looking away from her, no doubt to talk to the other coaches.

Avy smirked under her hood, happy to have done her daily job of making her _beloved_ "teachers" annoyed.

She looked around the area. They were in a desert this time, but with an oasis nearby. She was confident that underwater breath control would be the focus of the day.

A stumbling Wayward, with both a Hydrokinetic and a Telepath pin caught her attention. She had joined Exillium roughly about half a year after Avy had and though clumsy in her landings when leaping, had strangely been able to use her skills very well, especially for someone who couldn't have gone through training in Foxfire.

Most elves didn't learn skills like levitation and night vision in the Lost Cities, deciding to solely focus on their abilities.

So it was certainly unusual to see someone come into Exillium having no trouble with any of the skills, although her Dividing certainly was interesting _._

She had slight suspicions about the girl, but had never told anyone, not wanting to wrongly accuse someone of being in the most evil group in elvin history. They were worse than the Councillors and those stuffy nobles, and Avy loathed them.

They were blind scum, those birds.

"Miss Esters, the new Waywards are about to arrive. You _will not_ mess up, unless being ejected from Exillium forever is your wish. Are we clear?" The Red Coach appeared out of nowhere, bringing Avy back from plotting the vicious, merciless murder of the Black Swan that no normal elf could think of without breaking their minds.

"Of course not, I will never dream of it." Sarcasm dripped from her voice like a faulty faucet as she crossed her arms at the Coach who was trying to force her to follow her orders with fear.

Honestly, she was the least intimidating elf ever. Even a spoilt baby would not fear her.

Avy would rather be thrown into Exile anyday than be in Exillium, where their uniforms were simply out of this world. Not in the good way, of course. The other Waywards might fear the Coaches and blindly follow whatever they dictated them to do, sure. But she had her job as a covert operator for the Neverseen, and _he_ was the one she feared.

The Red Coach rolled her eyes at her, and without even bothering to be quiet, exclaimed, " _Waywards."_

Avy forced herself to bite back the cutting remark blooming at the tip of her tongue.

She did not like being given advice on her individual 'projects', much less being told what to do, especially by someone who she gave close to zero respect to.

Thinking of it, Avy's respect for the Coaches might as well be in the negative range. Avy held respect for pretty much no one, save for the Neverseen leaders, her old family, and a few exceptions.

"Like Vallena…" A little voice whispered from the back of her mind as the Red Coach walked away, the Coaches completely giving up on her.

Avy closed her eyes as emotions tried to bubble up and take down her defensive walls.

Avy remembered Vallena, even though it had been more than nine years since she last saw Vallena's warm smile.

Vallena was adopted by Avy's adoptive parents a few years before her. Avy remembered the girl who was a sister to her in everything but blood. Vallena had always been kind to her, she even stood up against the stuffy Nobles for Avy.

Vallena was a Froster, and she loved making it snow in the backyard, letting Avy play in the snow. For Avy was known for being a loner, she had only one friend before she ran away from the Lost Cities.

They used to fool around in the snow, building snowmen and having snowball fights, they even made an igloo before. Vallena would always do this when Avy was upset, fretting over her worries and problems that no 5 year old should have had.

Vallena was the best sister she could ever have…

Until the day she sacrificed herself to let Avy escape.

She remembered that day as if it were just the day before.

" _You're only five, you still have a long life to live."_ Vallena used to say constantly, but that day, she was far more serious than usual when she said it, as if she had already foreseen something terrible happening, something that would change both their lives forever.

And the next day, it did. For the night she said that, Avy casted a total darkness all around Eternalia, where the Ombré house was located. A few days later, Vallena committed treason against the Council, for being the loving, caring sister she was, she helped Avy escape from the Lost Cities, before giving her a box filled with a wide variety of special daggers made by the ogres.

Avy remembered staring at her big sister, her role model with wide eyes. The guilt of most elves prevented them from keeping basic cooking necessities such as knives and scissors in their houses, much less a bunch of deadly weapons.

Avy looked up at the cloudless skies of the elven realm and focused on feeling the cold, metallic dagger against her ankles. If anyone ever found out the weapons she possessed, just like her bow and arrows, she would be exiled in a second. After all, it was much deadlier than a simple melder.

Avy heard footsteps stealthily sneaking up behind her. However, Avy was not the Neverseen's best covert operator for no reason. Looking at the oasis in front of her, she caught the reflection of a certain white-haired elf.

However, when she saw Axel suddenly run, surprisingly quietly, up to her and attempted to tackle her to the ground, Avy simply took a step to the side and solidified the shadows she casted around him, trapping him suspended in the air.

Avy simply shook her head at his idiocy. He _was_ an elf, right?

She smirked at the marvelous piece of artwork she created— a floating elf surrounded by shadows in the air.

As a Neverseen member himself, new recruit or not, he should have known better than to sneak up on another Neverseen member, especially one with far more experience than him.

Avy pursed her lips as she looked at the statue in front of her. She was feeling rather impatient, waiting for the new waywards to arrive.

 _Sora and Soreas Heks…_

Her lips curled up into a smirk at the reminder of who they were. They had caused Jin a lot of pain, and they _would_ remember it that day.

Once again the odd sensation washed over her and wanting to climb up a tree, Avy looked around at the oasis around her, looking for a tree that would serve its function well.

Avy narrowed her eyes at the forest that lay in her line of vision. There should technically be no trees a place like the desert, but these were the Neutral Territories, cultivated by gnomes and dwarves. Estranged and impossible to explain to humans.

Picking the right tree for climbing was an annoying but necessary process. After all, she didn't want the repeat of falling off a tree like she did when she was younger.

She had been out for a few days, and had certainly got into a whole lot of trouble when she had woken up, mysteriously conjured back into the Neverseen hideout.

Her eyebrows scrunched up at that memory. Even now, more than 5 years later, Avy still did not know what was it or who it was which carried her back to the hideout, and for some reason unknown, had treated her surely broken bones.

The Neverseen rarely gave any treatment of any sort to anyone. They wore their wounds and scars with pride, showing that they survived, and usually don't care about each other, ready to leave another to die at any given time.

Avy knew it couldn't be Jin, despite her being the only elf in the Neverseen that could possibly have any emotion towards saving a young girl like Avy was. Jin was simply not strong enough to carry a girl her age at that time.

Shaking away the memory and returning back to the present, Avy found that she had been unconsciously walking towards a tree near the opening. It was near enough that trees in front of it would not block her vision, but far enough that she wouldn't be very obvious.

Casting shadows around her to hide her from any curious eyes, Avy decided to climb the tree, finding a high but stable branch where she could rest on and do her work.

Settling herself on that particular branch, Avy took a deep breath and slowly let it out a second later, letting the wind from on top of the tree gently blow her hair to one side.

The other elves always thought it was easy and came naturally for her, seeing how fast and efficiently she normally controlled her power.

What they did not know was how much strength she needed and how exhausted she's been after using a lot of her power.

Avy had to be in the perfect mindset and have complete control over what she was doing, or the shadows and darkness could turn over the tables and overpower her and control her instead, like they once did long ago.

Unfortunately, using as much strength and power as she was about to do usually drained her and left her vulnerable with her guard down.

The enemy could attack now and she'd be taken down in an instant.

Avy let the negative thoughts out of her head and instead concentrated on every shadow, every speck of darkness around her. She felt as if she were calling out to them and they seemed to respond back, stretching themselves out, ready to follow her every command.

She opened an eye to survey her surroundings below, keeping all five senses alert for any sign of the new waywards approaching.

She had no doubt that they would have a lack of stealth and would not exactly be dead silent with their lack of training, having lived the comfortable life in The Lost Cities.

She admitted to herself that she was rather envious of the luxurious life they got to lead, problems with power control or not, they had a family, and did not have to worry every second of their lives about people stabbing knives or daggers into their backs, not worrying about whether they could sleep that night.

Avy missed her family, her biological one, she longed to even catch a glance of them in real life, not in her dreams and imagination. She secretly missed the comfortable life of being the daughter of an Emissary, the smiles they could wear everyday.

But Avy knew better. The smiles made them weak and vulnerable, left them an open book. Danger could sneak up on them and they would not even be aware of it, still happily chatting or doing what not.

She couldn't afford to go back to that life. Even if she tried, she would constantly look back, keeping her eyes open and straining her ears for any signs of any potential danger. She would profile another elf before she spoke to them. And those things were certainly far from the ordinary life of a typical elf.

Avy sighed, realizing she was letting her control slip with the rants in her head. She took another deep breath to gain back her control, and not too soon, for two elves glimmered into corporeal form, undoubtedly the two new Waywards, already late on their first day.

Her famous smirk grew on her face and she had no doubt her eyes had turned a bright, glowing shade of violet.

She was surprised that none of the other Waywards had noticed the girl perched on top of the tree, hidden behind the leaves of the tree branches, but with a clear enough view for her to keep track of everything going on around her.

There were few trees in the area, not surprising considering the desert they were in. But Avy, being a lover of free climbing, was quick to weed out all the others to find the perfect one.

As the new Waywards took their first step, still talking to one another, Avy let out a soft, mean laugh, shadow-whispering to the girl "Welcome to your Dividing" in the coldest, terrifyingly chirpy voice she could muster, before smashing her hands down in the air, causing the shadows and darkness to take over the new Waywards, leaving them in complete darkness.

Avy kept a hold on to the growing darkness with one hand, pulling the new Neverseen member into the dark pit with the other. She let her powers flow, creating twists and turns and high walls, making sure to leave the three elves completely disoriented and confused, trying to drench out all that disgusting hope from them.

With a lot of strength, she managed to stretch her shadow out to the three elves, _"To pass your test, you have to run. Find your way out, before the sands are all gone."_

Keeping an eye on the three Waywards and the way they each ran, Avy made sure to bring up walls right on front of them, making sure they would run into the suddenly appearing walls.  
Some may call her cruel, but what was a life without darkness and a little evil?

With the wind in her hair and a smirk on her face, Avy softly hummed a familiar tune as she watched the three elves running around like fools.

She cocked her head to the side thoughtfully as she watched Jin's brother stop and narrow his eyes at the darkness around him. The new Neverseen member, who was on the other side of the maze, also stopped.

However, Jin's sister was still racing along the imaginary maze in panic, her feet sinking into the sand with every step she took. Avy smirked at her helpless figure. With a flick of her wrist, thorns of shadow materialised along the walls of the maze, almost real as they gleamed in the light.

The two boys were unaffected as they had long stopped trying to rush through the maze, but Jin's sister suffered a different fate, as Avy had expected her to do. A scream pierced through the air as an especially prickly thorn seemed to punctured her lower arm.

Jin's brother visibly tensed, but the new recruit didn't flinch at all. Avy allowed herself a small smile.

The purple Coach shot her a warning look from below, and as much as Avy hated to follow orders, she knew she couldn't push her boundaries too far. So she lowered her arm and crossed her legs as she continued to watch the three of them struggle through the maze.

After a while, the girl continued moving through the maze, much slower and more careful this time. The two boys started walking as well, considerably calmer than the girl, and Avy let them off easier. Soon, they were walking out from the other end of the maze, where light finally entered their vision.

Avy's lips curled up in a smirk. I _guess you can call those two Enlightened now._

Avy saw Jin's brother look around frantically, as if he was trying to find his sister. A note of panic entered his face, and as Avy looked back at the girl still finding her way out of the maze, she felt a sense of malevolence wash over her.

The thorns had been long gone, but Avy had more tricks up her sleeve.

The girl was a Terrakinetic— surely she could handle some vines.

With a flick of her wrist, long snaking vines slithered out from shadowy walls, snaring the stumbling girl by the wrist. She lurched backwards from the inertia and gasped, stumbling and almost falling to her knees. She tried to wrench the vines off her hand, but Avy held tight. Avy could almost see the thoughts whirring in the girl's head, even without being a Telepath: _How can shadows have a hold on me? They're not real, they can't be real._

"They're real enough," she hissed, slamming her fist down on the branch and bringing the shadowy vines down as well, knocking the girl down into the sandy dunes, causing her to cry out, a screeching sound that pierced Avy's ears. Annoyed, Avy released her hold on the girl, shaking her head silently.

As she lay there, coughing and rubbing her eyes, trying to get the sand out of her system, Avy wondered exactly how weak the Black Swan was. If this girl was one of _their_ members, then Avy wasn't worried at all.

Everyone— the three Coaches, the Waywards, everyone— was staring at her, the puppeteer of shadows, sitting on the branch of a tree, a masked figure clad in black, controlling the whole Dividing, thrusting painful torture on the new Wayward.

All the power in her hand. Even the girl, still trapped in the midst of the maze, seemed to spot her as well, her eyes narrowing at Avy through the slits of her mask.

Avy just raised her hand for another shadow trick to befall the girl. But the shadow never came. Suddenly, it was like a heavy weight had dropped over her head. Letting loose her powers, she was quick to try to regain them but it was futile.

It was as if the sea had risen.

The liquid kept its grasp around her head, surrounding her nose and mouth, keeping her from breathing, no doubt trying to drown her.

But as a sense of fatigue washed over her body, Avy knew that it wasn't the water that was going to kill her.

Exhausted and unable to breathe, Avy felt herself slump forward, dropping from the tree branch. As she slowly drifted into the darkness, she felt her head hit multiple tree branches, hard.

However, before her head could hit the ground in no doubt a fatal hit from the twenty foot drop and the multiple blows her head received, darkness finally claimed her and she drifted into what she wished would be eternal sleep.

* * *

Although she hated abusing her ability to gain the upper hand, Corey condonded violence even worse.

Or at least, that was her explanation to the Mentors after they caught her dumping fiftyy\ gallons worth of water on Ms Dark-and-Satanic's head.

In her defence, the other girl was really pushing it with her authority. She would've killed them she didn't stepped in. _Wouldn't she?_

In all honesty, Corey didn't know, and Corey wouldn't care less. It wouldn't affect her if the three of them, or even all of them were killed. _It was an accident,_ they would say, shedding crocodile tears. _She lost control over her ability. Oh the poor souls_. They would whimper into their dainty lace handkerchiefs.

But the Waywards were never respected by the public anyways. They wouldn't give two fucks about them.

But as Dolja, she did. This area was directly under her protection, and if anything happened to them, it only brought her a step further from avenging her parents. The Black Swan would feel that her inexperience was enough to bring confidence in her ability as a Black Swan member down, her age being another heavy burden that came with such responsibilities. If anything happened to them, the blame was directly brought on her, the 'incompetent' one. Nothing should, and would happen to them.

Nothing serious, that is. _Mistakes build character,_ as Ayagi used to say.

As a Wayward, one has got to be tough as nails and twice as brainy than the norm, so as to not get eaten. Life lessons.

A Coach had grabbed her by the arm now, physically dragging her over to the other side of the area. Sand was flying everywhere, carried by the harsh wind. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw both the Shade and the New Girl unconscious, each being carried by a guy in the maze. Both of them were gripping onto the girls tightly, as if they were afraid of losing them. Corey resisted the urge to roll her eyes at them. They were _elves_. It's not like they'll die so easily. Fucking pathetic.

In their wake, the Shade was dripping water, the boy carrying her equally drenched. She smirked to herself. She might not give a shit about their livelihood, but that didn't mean she was a murderer.

Bile risen up the back of her throat when she saw the special punishment that the Coaches dragged her too, one that was reserved for special cases, when Waywards got too caught up in their heads with their new skills.

When she saw what was in store for her, she couldn't help but remark: "For me? Aw, you're all too kind!" Inwardly, she was screaming her lungs out.

Most of them simply called it the Pit, but she preferred calling it the Pit of Poison. As if anyone could forget the millions of toxic creepy-crawlies lurking in its depths. Alright, most of them were venomous, but for alliteration's sake, she very much preferred calling it the Pit of Poison. In the Pit, one was strapped to a harness, and forced to bungee jump into the pit for a set amount of time, dependant on the severity of the situation. For her, she was considered minor, landing herself with a set time of ten minutes. Not anything life-threatening, but ain't that easy either.

 _Fuck._

Screwed was an understatement. Even if the harness didn't break, which would lead to her getting up-close-and-personal with the creatures, in which elvin medicine would be able to save her, being hauled up and down for ten minutes is _not fun_. But what could she do, what could she have done? It was a knee-jerk reflex to stop the Shade from harming others. To stop that scream. But would the Mentors empathise with her?

Yeah, she was really sure that that would go well with the Mentors. _Oh, I nearly drowned the Shade so that the other girl would stop screaming, because she sounded like my murdered parents, who were the reason I fucked up my life and came to this shithole so that I can have my revenge on the criminal organization that murdered them?_

It's all for the greater good, she supposed, a small injury as opposed to losing the war. She'd take the injury anyday.

She eased herself into the harness, shifting uncomfortably in the too-tight harness as the red Coach pulled and prodded at the straps so that she wouldn't accidentally slip and fall in. She couldn't help but smile wryly. For elves that were trying to torture her, they were taking her safety extremely seriously. If she didn't die of suffocation first.

Huffing a long breath, she reached out, and with shaky fingers, grasped the proffered end of the rope. It took her a few tries to get the mechnanism to clip on to her harness, leading Corey to give it a few experimental tugs. Based on how old them thing was, it would take nothing short of a miracle to ensure that it wouldn't break, landing her into the pit. The blue Coach saw her eyeing the rusty harness with suspicion, and spoke, eyebrows arched in amusement. "Best if you don't do that. Might increase your chances of that thing breaking."

The laughter evident in the Coach's tone caused Corey to shoot a dirty look towards him, before wrenching her hands towards her sides. Mockingly, she saluted towards the mentors with her left hand.

"See y'all in ten." Then mustering all her willpower to not run, she fell backwards into the pit, all the while cackling like a deranged maniac.

 _Snap._

* * *

 ** _Hey, Yvonne here. Hope you guys have been having a great week so far, and things seem to be getting along slightly faster now!_**

 ** _Now...will the girls_ finally _meet each other in Chapter 9? What's going to happen then? Who knows...(except for the three of us, haha XD)_**

 _ **See you next time!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

 _They say the message is more important than the messenger. They're wrong. The messenger is as important as the message._

The next thing Sora knew, she was lying on the ground.

No, not the ground, Sora realised, as she turned onto her side, wincing as her ankle twisted painfully. She was lying on a too-thin mattress, worn and smelly with age and grime, and she had been undressed and dressed into a faded grey robe. Wrinkling her nose, she sat up and looked around her, ignoring the embarrassingly loud squeak the mattress made.

She was in a dimly lit tent, the canvas sheets painted with bold, bright swirls of coloured paint. Patches and tears scarred the walls, making the tent look like it was going to collapse at any moment.

"You're awake." A green-cloaked figure slipped into the tent, holding a bottle of medicine in his hand. Sora couldn't see his face— she assumed the figure was a male judging by his voice— as he was wearing a metallic black mask, decorated with vibrant yellow feathers that had poked through the fabric of his hood. Maybe he was dressed up as a boobrie. Sora didn't have the energy to even flush at the inappropriate name the innocent bird had been given. And then she realised she was still wearing her Exillium mask, although the rest of her uniform had been removed.

She sighed as she adjusted her mask uncomfortably. She could feel the little beads of perspiration forming on the bridge of her nose, and the worst thing was that she wasn't allowed to remove the smelly, suffocating mask.

Her memories seemed like a faraway dream to her. She could only recall little snippets of what had happened over the past hour, and they seemed completely random to her. Her mind was playing tricks on her again.

Before she could reply the guy in the boobrie mask, shwe took notice of two shadowy figures in the tent. Sora watched them silently, but her breath caught in her throat when she noticed their ability pins.

The first Wayward— a Shade. The same Shade that had carried out her Dividing and plunged her in darkness, causing her claustrophobia to act up and injuring herself as a result.

And the second— a Telepath and a Hydrokinetic. Sora knew who the Wayward was the moment she saw her ability pins.

She had found the person she had been looking for.

It was either the Shade and Verbouge's daughter didn't seem to recognise her, or they were pretending not to notice her. Whatever it was, Sora knew she had to talk to them. Except, Exillium wasn't a big fan of communication.

What she didn't expect was that they would make the first step to talk to her.

 _Sup, how ya feeling?_

Sora screamed and shifted away. The guy in the boobrie mask was probably giving her a strange look, judging by the way his mask moved just the slightest bit.

Verbouge's daughter folded her arms, almost exasperatingly, and angled her body away from Sora like she was turned off by her hysterical antics. The Shade remained motionless, void of any reaction at all— like she was deaf.

"S-she has a spider on her back!" Blurting out the first thing that came to her mind, Sora pointed at the Shade, who had her back turned against her. The Shade flopped onto the floor and tilted her head toward Sora, like she was saying, _Dude, what are you talking about?_

Okay, so she wasn't deaf. Sora threw her arms out like it was a shield and looked away. "I can't look," she whispered. "Oh my gosh, I can't look!"

All this fuss just for me? Really? But thanks. I'm really honoured.

Sora bit back her scream this time. How in Eternalia— no, how in Exillium was this going to work out if she kept on getting jumpscared by Verbouge's daughter? But how on Earth is she able to reply to her? She can't possibly send her thoughts like a Telepath, and having no experience in talking to Telepaths, she decided to prolong the skit, with a subtle question hinted at the Hydrokinetic-slash-Telepath.

"Help, what am I supposed to do? I can't help her remove it from her back, I'm scared!" How can I reply to you without him hearing?

 _Think out your answer. That's really just it._

Sora fell silent all at once.

"Calm down," the boobrie-elf told her dryly. "There's no need to kick up a ruckus over a non-existent spider."

Both girls huffed out a laugh, making fun at Sora's expense.

"It's not non-existent," breathed Sora. "I can _see_ it. And it's totally creeping me out. Get it? Creeping?"

 _Your acting skills are_ very _convincing. Might wanna start an acting club at this rate. That aside, love the pun._

 _Oh, shut up!_ She tried to channel the thought out like what a Telepath would do— but she didn't _know_ what a Telepath would do.

The boobrie-elf ignored her as if he was used to hysterics. "Do you remember what happened? Your memory might still be a little faded. You were out for quite a while."

"Bits and pieces," she said slowly. "It's all coming together gradually. But... my ankle really hurts."

"That's to be expected." He brushed her ankle with a prickly miniature broom, applying a grimy salve to her skin. Sora felt her joints relax and warm like they were readjusting themselves and healing at a rapid pace. It wasn't anything new to her, but the salve reminded her of the kind that her mother used to apply for her whenever she got injured.

"It's better now." Her voice came out rough with emotion, and she hoped they couldn't pick out the sadness in her voice. "Thanks."

"You don't thank anyone in Exillium. That's how we run. You'll only get into trouble if you try anything like that in front of the Coaches."

 _Pretty much what he said. But you don't seem like the kind who likes to follow rules, don't you?_

Sora tensed. She wasn't used to other people questioning every aspect of her personality. _That… depends. But you're Cordelia, aren't you?_

 _Corey. Only my mum calls me Cordelia. Well, so do nobles but… how did'ja know my name?_

 _You don't know?_ Sora felt nonplussed at the girl's ignorance. It was impossible that news of her banishment hasn't travelled to Exillium.

 _Uh, am I supposed to know something? No one tells me anything, so..._

 _Fine. I'll tell you— heard of the name Sora?_

 _Sora? Like… oh. Oh. You're Sora Heks?_

 _Yeah, the girl who basically created a massive earthquake and destroyed her house, killing her parents in the process._

 _No no no, I mean, that's scary and cool and pretty darn awesome and all, but you're that girl who's gonna stay with us? What a coincidence!_ She had a tendency to ramble, Sora realised.

 _Yes, that's me. But enough about me. Why are_ you _here?_

 _Whaddya think I'm here for? I attend Exillium, duh._

 _No, I mean, why are you in this tent? Shouldn't you be outside? And why is that_ Shade _here too?_

 _Well, I got injured while being punished, because I might've injured her, so… here we are! It was an accident._

 _I see._

 _Sheesh, don't give me that look. Besides, dousing that Shade in water was really fun._

 _Well, I—_

"I'm going to discuss with the Coaches about your situation," the boobrie-elf told Sora, nearly making her jump. "Don't go anywhere while I'm gone."

With a start, Sora realised that the scratches on the Shade's skin had faded, and her skin was looking as pale as ever.

 _What a shame._ Cordelia transmitted, having heard Sora's thoughts about the Shade's complexion. _Damn, I liked her better when she was unconscious. That bitch was really getting on my fucking nerves._

Sora cringed at the girl's crude use of language. _I don't quite understand._

 _It's your first day at Exillium. You're not expected to._

"Well, you two sure love breaking the rules."

Sora jumped again, and Cordelia stiffened ever so slightly.

 _Oh look, Miss Shade here wants to talk about breaking the rules! What a model Wayward._ The sarcasm was evident in her expression, eliciting a whisper of amusement in Sora.

 _What does she want with us?_

 _Hold on._

"Ah, nothing much… just here to give you two a fair warning; If the both of you dare give me such trouble again… well, they don't call me The Nightmare for nothing."

The name sent chills down Sora's spine. The shadows around the room seemed to be dancing around her, maybe even tauntingly.

 _Oh wow. Is she serious? She's calling herself The Nightmare? Like, The Nightmare? I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover!_ Cordelia was terrible at hiding her amusement.

 _I've heard of that before,_ Sora told Cordelia. _Every parent tells their kid that story. A folktale of a Shade child that caused pain and torture to the residents of a peaceful Lost City to the far east of Earth. Humans thought of it as an unexpected eclipse, but the elves knew better. Well, it was the perfect story to scare their kids into submission, that is._

In her peripheral vision, she could see the Shade getting off the mattress, her arms crossed against her chest and her body angled toward them in a way that seemed threatening. The shadows in the tent had darkened and lengthened, adding to the whole ominous atmosphere of it all.

 _I know what The Nightmare means,_ Cordelia shot back, making Sora wish the girl could see her glare at her from under the mask. She hated when people were like that— like, how was she supposed to know Cordelia did know who The Nightmare was? _But the thing is, like you said, it's just a story. This Shade's not The Nightmare. She's just calling herself that to scare us…_

"Believe what you want," the Shade shadow-whispered back to the two elves, "Regardless of whether you choose to heed my warning or not, I shall act in retribution if you decide to act against my favour."

 _Dramatic much? Do the both of you know each other in person?_ Scoffing, Cordelia stalked to where the entrance of the tent was, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead. At the same time, Sora decided that getting off the mattress was a good idea.

Sora rolled her eyes and chose not to answer to that. Instead, she turned to the Shade, taking a few strides closer to her. The Shade tilted her head as she stared down at her, confused but amused at the same time.

Sora curled her lip in distaste.

She was tired of everybody looking down on her. She knew she was new to the foreignness of the Neutral Territories, but that didn't mean everybody could treat her like a weakling. She could see it in their eyes, through the hairsbreadth slits in their masks, she could see it in their body language, how they carried themselves when they were around her. Everyone. The Coaches. The Shade. The new Wayward that had gone through the Dividing with her and Soreas. The boobrie-elf. Even Cordelia. _Especially_ her. And Sora felt like exploding— like she couldn't hold in her stirring emotions.

"You should've stood up to the Coaches," she said quietly, her voice trembling with the girth of her anger and her power. "You shouldn't have hurt me. Toyed with me. I'm not a person you can mess with. I let you mess with me once. But I'm not going to let you do it again."

She stamped her foot, feeling her weight slam down with the all-too-familiar power pulsing through her veins. The ground they were standing on instantly split into two like an earthquake, sending the Shade tumbling to the side of the tent. The cracks in the ground spread into thousands of ruptures as the Shade knocked into a cramped rack of medical supplies, causing it to topple over. Multiple glass vials and bottles crashed to the ground, splintering into a million shards. Through the blurriness of her rage-blinded sight, Sora saw the Shade's body writhe in pain, but surprisingly, she didn't cry out at all. Cordelia, discentered, lost balance and was nearly sent sprawling across the floor, only to pick herself up at the last minute.

Sora cupped her hands together, willing the abundance of sand outside the tent to sift through the flaps of the tent, swirling the powder-like grains in the air before bringing her hand down and letting the sand rain down on them like the heavens themselves had opened fire. She felt the power course through her veins, her heart pumping it like blood, and gazed at the scene before her.

All the havoc sent the physician racing through the flap of the tent, and when he surveyed the fallen Shade, an advancing Sora, and a staggering Cordelia, he immediately turned to look at Sora. Sora tensed, all her rage simmering down as she recoiled, taking a step back. The ground cracked even further as she did so, sending hairline fissures running across the ground.

The physician gestured at Sora. "You. Out. Now." His voice was deadly cold, and Sora instantly obliged, taking one last glance at Cordelia and the Shade before bolting out of the Healing Tent, the soles of her boots slapping against the ground, leaving little crevices embedded into the hard earth.

She lingered a while outside, idling beside the tent flap, and she heard the physician's faint voice, "You're lucky this happened in my tent. You got off scot-free this time. If the Coaches had seen it, all three of you would already be ejected out of here."

A chill ran down Sora's spine, and she sank to the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Goosebumps prickled at her upper arms despite the heat and the long sleeves of her Exillium uniform, and she bowed her head, sucking in deep breaths in an attempt to calm her palpitating heart down.

She could still feel herself pulsing with the same power that had coursed through her veins that fateful evening, with her legs glowing with a bright, lurid green light that somehow managed to glimmer through the thick fabric of her Exillium leggings.

Shakily, she stood up on both feet and surveyed her surroundings. She could see a few Waywards milling around in the distance, but she hadn't caught sight of any of the Coaches yet. Good thing that they hadn't spotted her, because she wasn't ready to face any punishment. Like the physician had said, they couldn't be ejected if they had seen what happened.

Suddenly, she found herself frozen in place, unable to move, staring whilst Cordelia swiftly marched up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Her eyes, a dark blue-green and swirling, like an enraged storm that swallowed ships when they least expected. She was shocked to see that those eyes belonged to someone like Cordelia. It served as another reminder that no one was what they seemed on the outside.

Cordelia hissed, "Girl. What. The. Actual. Fuck. Was. That?" Her tone suddenly switched, light and demeaning and sarcastic. "Well, I'm quite sure that it isn't every day someone decides that's it's a good idea to try and kill me without me doing anything bad to her. Oh, and did I mention that I saved her life today? Well, if you didn't know, news flash: I did. So forgive me if I sound a little pissed. That's because I am. What the fuck is wrong with you? I'm quite sure that's not how to get attention or be popular in Foxfire, is it? So, what do you want?"

Her face, previously brimming with anger, suddenly broke out in a, for the lack of a better word, rebellious, grin, her right eye crinkling at the edge, teeth bared animalistically.

Sora blinked, momentarily shocked by her sudden attack. She quickly realised that Cordelia was playing with her, cat-and-mouse, daring her to come up with a satisfactory answer.

Stunned, Sora compared that rage-filled, savage face to the friendly demeanour just minutes ago, back in the Healing Tent. How could someone change so drastically in a matter of minutes?

 _Fake. She's so fake._

 _Very well, then. If you want to be fake, I'll be fake too. Two can play at this game, Corey._ Her mind folded these thoughts into the corner of her mind, whisking them away before Corey would even have the slightest chance to see what she was thinking.

She pretended to look scared as she stared into her eyes and said, "Well, I'm just proving that I'm not that weakling everyone seems to think I am. There are consequences when someone messes with me. You just got in the way. Sorry about that."

For a split second, she did feel scared. That hyena-like grin widened a bit before relaxing into something resembling a bit more normal. Then, she laughed. Small, barely audible, more of a scoff than a laugh. Cordelia seemed to have found the answer that she was looking for. She walked away, clapping a hand on her back.

In her mind's eye, Cordelia's voice rang loud and clear.

 _I'll be waiting for you and your brother at the entrance later. I'll be bringing you to Huldlot. Welcome to Exillium, Sora Heks._

Sora couldn't feel any heavier as she trod back silently to her tent, ignoring how the Waywards sneered at her and how the purple Coach stared at her in cold disapproval.

Silently fuming, Sora stomped her boot against the ground, sending little splinters across the dry earth, threatening to spread so far that they might even reach Cordelia and trip her up.

But she mustn't. It wasn't the right time nor the right place to take action. She needed to lie in wait. Hiding. Stalling. Make them underestimate her so that she would have the element of surprise over them when it was time for her to strike. That was the way of the Black Swan.

What Cordelia did to her just now was all the proof she needed.

To the Shade, to Cordelia Malum, to everybody else in the Neutral Territories, she was just another amateur who only knew how to poke her nose in other people's business.

But she wasn't just another ordinary amateur. She was the Black Swan's messenger, and she was running her postman business in another territory.

Her eyes flickered to the cracks spreading beneath her boots, threatening to trip her up, but her strong center of gravity as a Terrakinetic kept her strong. She gazed at the vanishing dot in the distance, and a secret smile tugged at her lips.

And though she be but little, she is fierce.

You better watch out, Cordelia and The Nightmare.

* * *

Corey barely made it two meters away before her arm was grabbed by a Coach. Her own Hemisphere's Coach.

They locked eyes before the Coach growled, "Follow me."

She was half-dragged to the main tent. She could've kept her balance but instead made herself stumble so that the Coach would have a hard time pulling her around.

She was pushed in, grumbling, before spotting a figure sulking at the far side of the tent. She couldn't help but blurt, "You again?"

The girl in question only raised— at least, from what she would see, that girl was literally shrouded in darkness— an eyebrow at her. Corey could feel the animosity radiating from the girl.

Irritated, Corey blew out a steady stream of air. _C'mon, what are we doing here… I got punished, they made me go to the Healing Tent to apologize… yadda yadda yadda… everything's all sorted! So now what?_

The Blue Coach cleared his throat, and spoke, "I know that it is uncharacteristic of us to summon Waywards, but we feel that as Coaches, we must make clear about several things necessary to bring to your attention." _There's old Bora; as boring as ever._

The Ambi Coach continued where Coach Bora left off, "As the both of you know, our new recruits are undeniably powerful and dangerous. The girl single-handedly killed her own parents. Her brother was famous as a potential Emissary at Foxfire. The other boy is a Pyrokinetic. As two of our longest staying Waywards in Exillium, and given your unique circumstances, we have come to a decision."

The Red Coach finished the whole speech by rasping, "We have decided that we shall be generous to give the both of you the honour of keeping them in line. The both of you are allowed to use whatever means necessary. Dismissed."

As Corey spun on her heel to get the damn away from this place, she heard the girl softly snark, "The day when I actually obey their orders will be the day I see a purple imp." Then she paused and let out a Cheshire grin, "Though, it will be fun to torture them, don't you think, little Hydrokinetic?" Then, without giving Corey a chance to answer her, she left, vanishing into the shadows.

As she left the tent too, feeling the tent curtain settle softly behind her, brushing against her inner calf, she sensed a pair of eyes glaring at her. Slowly releasing a breath of air, she turned around to face a pair of startlingly familiar eyes.

 _Where have I seen them before? It could just be my imagination playing tricks on me though… I mean, every single fricking elf has blue eyes!_

As she met his gaze, he didn't seem the slightest bit intimidated by her glare, so she huffed in annoyance, crossed her arms, and asked, "Yes?"

"Why did you do it?" The words didn't tumble out of his mouth— yes, he spoke fast, but he also spoke them clearly and sharply, directing them at her like a melder pointed straight at her heart. But she wasn't one to be easily daunted.

His gruff voice also sounded kind of familiar to her, but then again, her ears had been permanently mutilated by those insects in the pit the Coaches had thrown her into this morning. Yuck.

She tilted her head at him, almost mockingly. "Do what?" she leered, throwing him a challenging look. "Dude, seriously."

"You know what I mean." He sounded angrier now, a note of darkness crawling into his voice, almost throwing Corey off guard for a second. But she didn't let it show on her face.

"What the actual fuck?" She laughed as she scoffed out the words. "I didn't do no shit!"

For a second, her eyes lingered on the Empath pin on his Exillium uniform. He had surely felt her temporary fright. And Corey hated it when someone saw her display of weakness.

The Empath laughed as well, a jeering, jerking sound. Corey didn't like it one bit. "Is that the best you can do? Throw out meaningless little swears? You talk like an uncultured brat! Dude, seriously," he imitated her, clearly getting annoyed at her. Perfect. Corey was the best at annoying people, and this just made her even more entertained.

She raised a single eyebrow at him casually. "If you're gonna stand there all day imitating me, I'd suggest you leave. I ain't got all da— "

In a blink of the eye, his calm demeanour disintegrated as he stepped towards her, and as swift as the wind, he had his hand around her throat, throwing Corey against the bark of a nearby tree. Corey didn't even have time to react, trying to throw off his grip but failing terribly. Gosh, how is this dude so strong?

"Why did you do it?" he growled.

 _I said, I haven't got all day! Let a girl finish her words before ya pin her to a tree. And side note, how the_ fuck _do you expect me to answer when you're trying to cut off my air supply?_ She mentally transmitted as loudly as she could, an attempt to make him loosen his grip so that she could escape. Gosh, she was getting annoyed by the nerve of this boy.

The boy didn't seem to be affected by her mental attack. Instead, he only smirked and pressed harder against her throat.

It turned into a standoff between them, Corey's mental heckling and inner annoyance causing the boy to increase the pressure, in turn causing her to turn purple— well, at least, she thought she felt herself turning purple. The good thing was, the boy was getting more and more frustrated. A smooth, silent sweep of his mind showed that he was steadily getting frustrated at the fact that _she won't goddamn give up._ His words, not hers.

 _Sorry mister, but I don't get scared that easily,_ she snarked at him, at the same time desperately trying to find a way to break out.

"Funny, I could've sworn you were. I guess that was somebody else's emotions I felt right then, pipsqueak," the boy hissed at her, before continuing, "Why don't you just give up, little mind freak. Nothing good comes out from being stubborn." His lips twisted up in a vicious smile. "How childish."

Corey, for once, wasn't paying attention to the petty insults he had hurled at her, nor was she busy coming up with a retort. It was difficult to piss a guy off when she was on the verge of blacking out.

Her vision filled with flashing dots, making her lightheaded, and she knew that she could save herself, even in this position, but a part of her prevented her from doing so. _They can't know about Dolja._

Her knees were about to give in when a fierce wind blasted into them, catching them both by surprise.

The Empath cursed as his grip got torn away by the powerful gust, and he tumbled to the ground, the wind swirling at his legs, keeping him confined to gravity. The wind had kicked up a small sandstorm, and both the boy and Corey covered their eyes, coughing and hacking.

Corey slumped against the trunk of the tree as she squinted through the swirling sand, making out a shadowy figure in the eye of the storm. Then, in the blink of an eye, the tempest was wiped out completely, revealing a tall figure, with a blue handprint slapped on his right and two ability pins pinned on the collar of his shirt. As he stepped towards her, Corey's eyes instantly made out both a Guster and a Polyglot pin. Beneath the mask, her eyes narrowed.

Soreas Heks. The brother.

Before she could say anything, she realised that the winds around the Empath had vanished too, and he had already stood up, brushing the dust off him, a cold glare pinned onto Soreas.

He looked like he wanted to advance on him, or at least say something more, but all he did was spin on his heel and stomp away, his boots sinking into the sand with every step he took. Corey watched him go, but she noticed how he lingered, walking so slowly that Corey was tempted to grab and pin him to the tree. The realisation dawned on her.

He was waiting for someone.

Corey watched as another figure clothed in Exillium uniform appeared out of the swirling sand. Then that figure held a temporary crystal up to the light, and they glittered out of the desert, leaving nothing in their wake.

Who could it be?

Her train of thoughts was cut off by Soreas speaking. "You're Cordelia, right?"

"It's Corey to you." She craned her neck to face him. "I'm supposed to bring you and your sister to Huldlot. That's my place. Speaking of her, where is that girl?"

Irritation pricked at her as she thought of the Terrakinetic. Corey hadn't expected her powers to be so strong. But although she was powerful, it was clear she hadn't enough control yet. That would be dangerous, not knowing her reaction if something happens. Would she start screaming and running away, like what she just did in the maze? Or would she tap into her awesome ability and beat the crap out of the enemy? The predictability in elvin nature was a large factor in her doing her job. Just another obstacle in her way. But it wouldn't be much of a problem.

They were all weak, the Black Swan members, a bunch of spoilt over-privileged idealists who dealt with first world problems. But they were good at their job, and they had money that they were willing to spend. Like on forging papers. That shit was expensive. That was why Corey was with them, after all the things she'd been through. And she had to admit there was something about Sora Heks that she liked. Her brother had impressed her today too. There weren't many people around that would help a girl around like that.

"I don't know too," Soreas said, craning his neck around for his sister. "I was looking for her when I saw you being assaulted by that guy. You should watch out for him. I'm in the same Hemisphere as him and he's good. In a dangerous way, I mean."

"Like I didn't already know that. Why do you think I didn't manage to escape? I tried to use my telekinesis on him but— his telekinesis was overpowering mine. And my telekinesis is really good, I'll tell ya."

"I'm sure it is." Soreas sounded like he didn't believe a word of it. But before she could protest, he said, "Oh look, there she is."

Sora ran over, throwing herself into her brother's arms, whispering words in a language Corey didn't understand. _Damned Polyglots,_ she thought furiously. She hated it when she was left out of a conversation she couldn't make sense of. Soreas said something back, in the same language, and then both of them turned to look at Corey.

"Can you bring us to your home now?" Sora asked. "Thank you so much for having us." Her eyes flickered to meet Corey's, an apologetic expression on her face. "I'm so sorry for what happened earlier, by the way. I wasn't really thinking."

Corey smiled, glad that they wouldn't be seeing any earthquakes anytime soon. "It's alright." She chanted a word out loud, and her home crystal, attached to a pathfinder, materialised in her hands. Too late, she realised she shouldn't have said the word so loudly. Those two were Polyglots. _Polyglots_. They could easily mimic her voice. But it wasn't so much of a big deal after all. The password was only valid for a one-time use, anyway.

She'd just set a different keyword next time.

She called for them to link hands, before letting the crystal catch the fading light of the sunset to whisk them away to Huldlot.

* * *

 **A/N: We finally posted a new chapter! The story's finally starting up, and the drama is rising. Hope you like it! We plan on posting more at once. -Audrea**


	10. Chapter 10

_This isn't what family used to feel like, but it's the closest thing she has left._

They materialized in front of a set of sterling silver gates, glinting gold in the setting sun. Behind the gates sat a five-storey mansion, with multi-tiered waterfalls cascading down the front of the house, flowing into a moat surrounding the house with a thunderous roar, a metal bridge stretching across the moat. Tall, lush trees framed the stately mansion, stirring up Sora's Terrakinesis with an irresistible pull. It wasn't bigger than Mettle Manor, but it definitely looked cooler. Her former house simply paled in comparison with Huldlot.

Not that it could be compared any longer, considering what was left of Mettle Manor was a pile of debris, broken plaster, and her parents' dead bodies. And those pathetic remnants had probably been cleared up by now.

The mansion looked very modernized, all monochrome metal and glass, yet giving off a relaxed vibe, much unlike all the other elvin homes that she had seen. It was a stark contrast to the stiff, ancient Japanese-based architecture of her home. She sighed. She was going to have a very hard time adjusting to this house, and she was sure that Soreas felt the same. One glance at her brother beside her confirmed her thoughts.

A gentle breeze ruffled her hair and she couldn't help to remove her mask to feel the cool breeze on her face. A quick glance around showed that Soreas and Cordelia did the same.

She was shocked by the girl behind the mask. That girl looked like a princess, with long flowing brown hair, with closed eyes and outstretched hands, a serene smile on her face. That illusion was quickly shattered, when she turned to face them, eyes glittering with mischief and a smug grin playing on her features. For a second, Sora could've sworn that she saw someone else, but she couldn't put a finger on it.

"Awesome, right?" Cordelia asked them. Sora didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. But it was probably written all over their faces, because she said, "I know it's really different from what you guys are used to, but trust me, you would pass this up to live in… let's say, Wildwood?" She shuddered at the mention of the Neutral Territory. Sora frowned, not familiar with the name, but Soreas recognised it instantly, having read a lot of books on the Neutral Territories when they were still at Sakurajima, the Zoroks' estate.

Thinking of the Zoroks, a hot blush spread across her face. She wondered if she was ever going to see Kael again. Probably not. Anyway, Kael pretty much hated her, so it was useless. But just thinking of his bright, intense eyes staring into hers that day made her heart miss a beat.

"Earth to Sora," Cordelia said, sounding bored as she crossed her arms. "Honestly, although you're a Terrakinetic and all that, but there's time to admire the house later. Ayagi's waiting."

Sora blinked, mumbled an apology to her and followed Soreas into the now opened gates. Feeling her boots tread on soft grass made her heart sing, and before she could stop it, little flowers sprouted out of the soil and bloomed all over.

Suddenly, something burrowed out of the ground right in front of her, making her jump back, a half-scream escaping her lips. Cordelia and Soreas turned around, tensed and ready to fight.

Sora stared down at the dwarf standing in front of her, her heart hammering wildly in her ears. She sighed in relief as Cordelia laughed a little and said, "I forgot to tell you guys that Huldlot is protected by dwarves. We like our security as much as the Vackers. No glowing gates though. Bit too flashy for our taste— hey Rikka, how's it going?" she smiled, high-fiving the dwarf in front of her, who had a grubby palm stretched out in front of her.

Sora couldn't help but laugh at that. "It's good to hear that we'll be safe here," she said. "I couldn't thank you enough."

"Thank Ayagi," Cordelia said, shrugging. "It's not like I'm the one who decided to let you guys stay here. I don't call the shots."

Sora and Soreas exchanged a look. _She's not happy that we're here._ But of course. Who would want to have a murderer in her house, even if they were members of the Black Swan? It wasn't as if Cordelia understood about the Black Swan— she might not even _know_ about it— so why would she care if Ayagi said that they were Black Swan members? Of course she didn't like them staying in her house.

"We're sorry that we're imposing on your hospitality," Soreas said, ever the smooth talker. "If we could, we would stay somewhere else, where we wouldn't interrupt anyone's lives, but we were instructed to stay here."

Cordelia smiled. "Chill. It's okay, I'm glad you're here… All along, it's always been just me and Aya and Sev, so it gets lonely in here sometimes. You two will be a fun addition." She was a good liar, Sora had to give her that. But lying about your emotions was the hardest type of lying, and Sora could hear the slight stiffness of her voice.

But neither Sora nor Soreas was going to call her out for lying. Instead, they merely nodded and followed Cordelia further in, their loud footsteps clanking as they crossed the bridge. Cordelia whispered something under her breath, and the door flew open at her command, revealing a small, dark foyer with another door that Sora assumed led to the living room. The lights flickered on when they stepped onto the floor of the foyer, and a camera head slid out from a moving panel of the ceiling, directed straight at them. It blinked with a red light rapidly, seeming to follow a certain pattern, before it stopped completely.

" _Yes,_ Aya, it's really them. Can you let us in now, thank you very much," Cordelia said to the camera through gritted teeth, clearly frustrated at the extensive safety measures set up around the house. A split second later, the camera slid back in and the panel closed. The door in front of them beeped, and clicked open.

Cordelia turned to face them, grinning. "I told you it was awesome and you didn't believe me." She gestured to the both of them and spun on her heel, heading towards the door. "C'mon."

"Wait," Soreas said, stopping Cordelia. "Before we meet Lady Ayagi, we need to talk first. You need to be able to protect yourself."

As if she's been jolted, Cordelia immediately whipped around to fully face them, her eyes widening in incredulity. She said slowly, "So… you guys are saying that I'm in danger?"

"Not necessarily. But Sora and I—" He suddenly broke off, gesturing to himself and his sister, "May put you in danger."

"You guys? Oh. _Oh._ I get it. It's because of what happened today, isn't it? Because you guys are strong and powerful and I'm just this little bitch that popped out of nowhere and the both of you have some weird-ass obligation to protect me 'cause I'm small and _weak._ "

"That's not what we're talking about. You're completely missing the point." Soreas crossed his arms across his chest.

"Whatever. Besides, we're getting off topic. The point is, I don't need lookin' after. I can very well take care of myself!" She huffed and rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.

"Really?" challenged Soreas, raising his chin. "Unless we've all been hallucinating, you almost got yourself ejected today, with that stunt of yours. Not to mention killed."

Something flashed in Cordelia's eyes. "Well, when I say I don't need help, I mean it! Did I survive all those fucking years in fucking Exillium for nothin'?"

Sora hesitated. "How many years has it been?" she asked softly.

Cordelia had a distant look in her eyes when she replied, "Six. And a half. This conversation is over. Follow me."

She spun on her heel and walked through the door. Before Sora could follow, Soreas nudged her, and mouthed, _She didn't attend Foxfire at all._

Sora gaped, but when Cordelia turned back to fix an impatient gaze on them, she hastened to keep Cordelia's pace. Her mind whirled with confused thoughts. Cordelia hadn't attended Foxfire at all. What had she done to be banished at such a young age? She yearned to ask Cordelia, to find out more, but one look at Cordelia's stiff figure told her it wasn't the time to prod into her past.

Slipping their shoes off, they walked into the living room, toes burying into thick carpet. A big, round dining table stood in the large room, separated by a short glass partition, flanked with eleven chairs. Porcelain plates and the appropriate cutlery were already laid out on the table, and it was clear that it served much more than the supposed four people, Sora noted. Who were the other people that they were going to have dinner with?

She had no time to think, because there were so many other details that caught her attention. An elegant silver spiral staircase curved down from upstairs to sweep the floor of the living room. A set of armchairs and couches had been laid out around a glass coffee table, a vase of flowers sitting on the tabletop. A velvet armchair stood out alone in the corner, looking terribly out of place. Framed pictures of Ayagi, a younger Corey, and another man filled the bare walls, giving the place a cozy atmosphere.

But the longer Sora stared at the photos, the colder she felt.

A woman descended from the flight of stairs. She wore a light silvery-blue dress that reached down beyond her ankles, with a black ombre cloak wrapping around her shoulders, gradually fading to white. Sora thought the dress matched her eyes pretty well, also complementing her smooth, dark skin. Dark, defined eyebrows and dramatic, almond-shaped eyes marked her face as her own, punctuated by orbs that reminded her of her pathfinder, silverish metal with the barest hint of blue. An air of elegance and regality surrounded her as she stepped forward to meet them.

As she reached the bottom step, Sora was suddenly struck by how gorgeous she was, even by elven standards. Tall— almost the same height as Soreas, who was a full head higher than her— with long, flowing coal coloured hair swept up in a half ponytail.

She must be the legendary Ayagi Larayna, Sora mused. The facts she'd memorised about the Black Swan member started falling into place. Her Black Swan codename was Verbouge. And she was an Emissary, too. That must be pretty dangerous, playing the double agent against the Council. Not as dangerous as playing double agent against the enemy, though. The Council would just lock Ayagi up in Exile, maybe break her mind to dig up information about the Black Swan. That was dangerous, yes, but who knew what the enemy would do?

They would probably just kill her, like how they killed Jolie Ruewen.

She was treated as a legend in her own way, sending the elven community into a frenzy after taking her best friend's much unknown daughter, who was none other than Cordelia, and withdrawing herself from society, only appearing for work. Unlike the Ruewens, who put themselves in self-imposed exile and heavily suffered from social anxiety, she simply did not care, according to the rumors that she'd heard the older ones spread. Unrestrained and unbound by the rules of society, she was what one would call a free spirit. That, Sora could see very evidently in Cordelia.

It must be fun, growing up in a environment like that, she thought wistfully.

"What the heck, Aya?" Cordelia's voice pulled Sora out of her dark thoughts. "Why are you in a dress? You don't even bother to dress up when the goddamn Council visits."

Ayagi merely smiled. "That's because I don't care about what the _goddamn Council_ thinks of me. And I dressed up today because some people are coming for dinner."

"Somebody who's not them?" asked Cordelia, gesturing at Sora and Soreas.

"Yes." Ayagi smiled at them. "It's a great pleasure to meet you, Sora and Soreas. We'll be happy to house you for as long as you are in Exillium."

They both bowed and said, "It's an honour to meet you, Lady Ayagi."

Her laugh was gentle, tinkling, and very much unlike Cordelia's. "Call me Ayagi. Or if you prefer, Aya."

"Nope," Cordelia cut in. "Only I get to call her Aya. No offence, y'all." She turned to Sora and Soreas, smiling a little sheepishly.

"None taken," Soreas assured her.

Ayagi looked like she wanted to say something, but Corey beat her to it first. "So, who's coming? Is it someone I know? Is it one of those stuffy nobles?"

Ayagi didn't blink at all. "Yes, it is someone you know. Your friends, to be specific. Now, I—"

"Wait. Holy crap. I have _friends?"_

"Don't sound so incredulous. You do. You just haven't seen them in a long time." She thought for a while before adding, "An extremely long time." She turned to Sora and Soreas. "Welcome to Huldlot. I'll show you to your rooms, then you can unpack." Her eyes flickered to their saggy Foxfire satchels they were carrying over their shoulders.

Sora followed her gaze. They hadn't brought a lot of things, since most of the things were lost in the earthquake. Since they had just came back from Foxfire when it happened, all they had were their satchels, and the things inside. All other things were left behind in the remnants of Mettle Manor.

"I'd had your possessions you'd left behind sent here," continued Ayagi. "I retrieved what I could, so they should be arriving sooner or later. As for clothes, Sora, I'll let you wear some of Corey's clothes for a while, but they can be quite… different. Don't worry, I'll have your measurements down after dinner so that you can have new clothes, and the same goes for Soreas."

Sora tried not to shiver at the thought of wearing the same clothes as Cordelia did. Cordelia didn't look exactly happy about it, too.

Soreas frowned. "I'm wearing _girl_ clothes?"

"Hey, watch what the fuck you say!" Cordelia snapped.

Ayagi didn't blink. "Corey, I already told you, no swearing. And Soreas, if you'd prefer, you can wear Sevadis's clothes." Soreas nodded at that. "Although Corey's clothes aren't exactly girly."

"And _you're_ being a little sexist right here," Cordelia sniped.

"Sorry," said Soreas. "It's just that our family can be very… conventional."

"Oh, an eccentric family being _conventional,"_ Corey scoffed. "Never heard of that one before."

"I suggest you watch what _you_ say too, Corey," Ayagi said, a little sharply. She was about to say something else when she was interrupted.

"Oh trust me Corey, my dear. Once you go into society, you'll see many families like that…" A disembodied voice filtered into the space. Sora couldn't help but jump, and beside her, she heard Soreas curse. Loudly. Soreas rarely cursed.

Surveying her surroundings, she saw Cordelia bent over laughing, clutching at her stomach, whereas Ayagi was silently chuckling.

Seeing the wide-eyed expression adopted by the both of them, Ayagi quickly explained, "That was our—"

"— little house guest," Cordelia finished with a smirk.

"Now, now, Corey, it isn't very polite to interrupt your mother while she's in the middle of talking, we've talked about this." The voice, to Sora's horror, was travelling out of a large rip that appeared in the velvet armchair in the corner.

Cordelia, seemingly unaffected by the strangeness of it all, simply decided to turn her back against the armchair and sulk.

In a bright flash, the armchair was replaced by a dark-haired man sitting cross legged in that very corner, a large grin stretched across his face. "Hello! The name's Sevadaís, I'm a family friend." he spoke, cheerfully waving a hand.

She could feel Cordelia rolling her eyes behind her, as she spoke: " _Family friend_ , you say? Then please tell me other than you, have you seen any other _family_ _friends_ just break into people's houses and steal their food, eh?" The spite in her voice was evident, but when she whirled around, Sora was surprised to see a smile playing on her lips. The man was found in most of the pictures littered around the house, and with a arm around Cordelia.

It seemed that Ayagi had help in raising Cordelia.

Ayagi smiled, shaking her head. "Now, we have wasted enough time. Follow me." She started up the spiral staircase, and Sora and Soreas followed.

The second floor was a corridor with three doors, and Ayagi pointed at the first door on the right side of the corridor. "That is my study. The one opposite is my bedroom. And this one," she said, heading for the second door next to her study, "is where you're going to stay, Soreas."

She pushed the door open and they headed in. Surprisingly, Cordelia followed as well, trailing behind them. Sora looked in the room. It was smaller than Soreas's old bedroom, but it was probably because this room wasn't built to be a bedroom.

A simple super-single bed and a small desk took up one side of the room, and a wardrobe took up the other. A full-length mirror stood beside the wardrobe, probably a spectral mirror like the one Sora had at home. Idly, she wondered if her new room had one too.

"This was all the space we could afford to spare," Ayagi said. "I hope it's good enough."

"It's perfect," Soreas said, flashing Ayagi his ever-perfect smile— the type of smile he always used on the Mentors back in Foxfire. "Thank you so much."

"It's the least I can do." Ayagi walked over and stared at their reflections in the mirror. "I knew your parents. They were good and kind people. And you look so much like them."

Sora instantly tensed up at the mention of her parents, and so did Soreas.

"It's alright, Sora," reassured Ayagi. "I don't blame you for their death. You didn't mean to do it, and that's all that matters. Now, I'll leave Soreas here to settle in, while I bring you to your new room."

"Actually, I'll accompany Sora," he said. Just then, the mirror in front of him flashed, and a girl winked to existence in the corner of the mirror. It was the spectral mirror, Sora realised.

"Greetings, Lady Ayagi, Lord Sevadaís, and Miss Malum." Then she turned to look at Soreas and Sora. "And who might you two be?"

"I'm Soreas Heks and this is my sister Sora Heks," Soreas introduced.

"And who is going to be with me?" Her lazy gaze flickered between the two. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind either one. You're both good-looking."

"Uh," Sora said. Her spectral mirror back at home had never complimented her on her looks before.

"Estelle isn't lying," Cordelia said from behind them. When Sora turned to look at her, she winked.

Ayagi stepped in. "Soreas is going to be staying in this room," she told Estelle, pointing at Soreas. "He needs new clothes, but for now he's just going to wear the clothes that Sevadis never wears anymore. You think that might work?"

"It might," replied Estelle, squinting as she scrutinised Soreas. "He's going to end up looking very shabby, but that's alright. Mr. Orimos and Mr. Fellers wouldn't mind."

Cordelia sucked in a sharp breath when she heard the names, and so did Sora.

She didn't recognise the first name, but… Mr. _Fellers?_

Ayagi had said that they were Cordelia's friends that she hadn't seen in a long time, so it couldn't just be the two Black Swan members that were coming here. So if it wasn't them…

Could it be… ?

Elian's face surfaced to her mind, smiling with her, _teasing_ her in the Tribunal Hall, right in front of everyone, at the last minutes of her citizenship in the Lost Cities, while she dimly heard Cordelia yelling at Ayagi, _Why didn't you tell me earlier, they're my best friends!_

His words echoed in her mind. _That's why we're lucky that you and I both have a photographic memory. We'll never forget each other as long as we live._

It really did seem that they won't be forgetting each other— at least for today.

* * *

"And this," Ayagi said, opening up another door, "is your room."

They had left Soreas's room to ascend another floor up the spiral staircase, and Sora wasn't surprised to see that it looked exactly the same as Soreas's, except that hers opened up into a balcony, where she faced the trees surrounding Huldlot.

"I thought you would like the view," Ayagi said, "especially with the trees, since you're a Terrakinetic and all."

Sora forced the words out of her throat. "Thank you. I love it. Really."

Ayagi smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Now I'd leave you two to unpack your things and dress up for dinner, and I'll call you guys down in ten, okay?"

Cordelia suddenly piped up and said, "I'm staying in the room with the black and silver door across the hall. If either of you guys need any help, just knock, okay?" It was uncharacteristically gentle of her, accompanied by a slightly awkward smile, and Sora found herself nodding.

"...Okay," Sora replied, and Soreas nodded in understanding. Then Ayagi and Cordelia left, arguing over Corey helping to make dinner, and so did Soreas.

But before he did, he turned and told her, "Everything's going to be alright, Sora."

Then he turned and walked out of the room, leaving Sora alone.

She sighed as she stepped in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection. Her Exillium uniform was already caked in dirt and grime, and when she removed her boots, sand poured out. Her scalp had also trapped sand and her bun had fell out, leaving her hair dishevelled. Her face was splattered with mud, and all in all, she really did look Unworthy.

 _That's because I am._

After a few seconds, the spectral mirror clicked on, and another girl stepped out. "Hello," she said. "My name is Hansha. And you are…"

"Sora," she said. "Sora Heks."

Hansha smiled in reply. "Let's get you all prepped up. You'll look so pretty that Matteo and Elian wouldn't be able to take their eyes off of you."

"I don't want that." But who was she to argue with a spectral mirror? She opened the doors of the wardrobe and found a stack of neatly folded clothes sitting in a corner. She frowned as she picked up the stack and set it on her bed, sifting through them carefully. Ayagi was right. These clothes were _very_ different.

"What in Eternalia are these kind of clothes?" Sora asked Hansha, holding one of them up for her inspection. Hansha squinted at the pair of pants, made out of a rough fabric that was tearing horribly at some parts, leaving nothing but thin strings attached to the holes like a harp. "Look at this. It's already torn. I can't wear this thing."

"Actually," Hansha said slowly. "I believe it's torn on purpose."

"You mean Cordelia _tore_ this thing on her own?"

"No, I mean that it's part of the design. Miss Malum has a… _thing_ for human clothes," Hansha clarified. "I remembered her lecturing me on this before." She wrinkled her nose. "In the human world, this kind of pants are called ripped jeans. Their own sense of fashion, I suppose. Humans have a strange taste in clothes."

Sora stared at the _ripped jeans_ again. "I can't wear this ugly thing. Everyone would judge me." She tore through the other pieces of clothing again, trying to find a less embarrassing one to wear. None of them looked even remotely elvin. Cordelia obviously wanted her to suffer.

Finally, she eyed the ripped jeans dubiously. "Hansha, which one do you think is the most elvin-like?"

"I'll say the ripped jeans. They _are_ pants after all. If you patch those holes up, they'll just look okay."

 _Except that I'll look horribly underdressed compared to the others._ Sora groaned and buried her face in her hands, lamenting her fate, then accepting it as she picked up the ripped jeans and said, "It's good that I have a tunic from Sakurajima."

The thought of Kael made her surprisingly warm.

Then she entered the walk-in wardrobe and put on the clothes.

She walked out of the wardrobe and stood in front of the mirror, brushing her hair with the brush Ayagi had provided. It took a long time for her to untangle the knots in her hair. Then finally, she was ready. She took one last look at her reflection. At least she didn't look like a murderer. She looked quite decent, except for the ripped jeans. After Hansha gave her stamp of approval, she walked out of her room, ready to meet Soreas.

When she entered the living room, Ayagi and Cordelia were laying dinner on the table. At the sight of food, Sora's stomach rumbled a little. Luckily, they didn't hear it.

A ball of fur bounded into her sight and nearly plowed into her. It yapped at her, jumping on its hind feet, trying to reach her. She yelped, stumbled back a few steps and nearly plowed into Soreas.

Cordelia caught them staring and laughed. "That's Lluvia," she said. "By the way, I like that you chose the 've got good taste."

"W—what's that?" Sora nearly shrieked, scooting to hide behind Soreas. Soreas looked equally as terrified. She stared at the furry creature in front of her. It had fluffy white fur and beady black eyes, and it would look cute if not for the fact that it looked like it wanted to kill her right now.

"Relax, Lluvia isn't gonna kill you," Cordelia told her, making Sora wonder if she was reading her mind. The thought sent a chill down her spine. "She's just excited to see you. You'll get used to it. 'Sides, dogs can't kill… well, at least _this_ one can't."

Soreas raised an eyebrow at her. "Dogs come from the Forbidden Cities."

Cordelia smiled sweetly at him. "Yes. Yes, they do. Ya got a problem with that?"

Soreas knelt down reluctantly, and Lluvia hopped into his lap, eliciting a yelp from him as the creature stuck its tongue out and licked his cheek. Sora looked away, finding it rather disgusting.

Just then, the tinkling sound of a thousand wind chimes rang through the air, making Sora jump. Everyone turned to look at Ayagi, who said, "That must be our guests. I'll go get them." Then she left the living room, and made her way to the foyer to fetch them.

"So only you can open the gates and the front door?" Soreas asked Cordelia in an attempt to fill in the awkward silence.

She glanced at him, then nodded. She seemed a little more subdued than before, and she was picking at her fingers, looking down at the marble floor. _She's nervous,_ Sora realised. _Like me._ She was nervous to see the two boys, probably because she hadn't seen them in a long time. But whatever signs of nervousness seemed to vanish when the door swung open, and Ayagi entered the living room, followed by two families, with two boys at the lead.

Sora didn't recognise the first boy, but he looked like Soreas's age, and one glance at Soreas's expression confirmed that he knew who he was. _A Level Eight._ He had neatly styled copper hair that contrasted with his electric blue eyes, and pale skin that was almost as white as snow. A family crest pinned his cape around his shoulders— a circular crest with a picture of a wreath of thorns, with a clear, bold 'O' in the middle in black. A lightning bolt cut right through the middle of the wreath.

 _This must be Matteo,_ she thought.

She was so fixated on staring at his family crest to notice the other boy, and when she finally did, he was standing right in front of her, looking down at her.

Elian looked like a faraway dream, with his familiar light brown hair and turquoise eyes. His tanned skin reminded her of the desert in Exillium. He wore a teal tunic that matched his eyes, a pair of black pants, and a cape that reached to his knees. And he was still looking at her, holding her gaze as she raised her head to stare at him.

He smiled. "It's good to see you again, Sora."

Sora tore her gaze away and murmured, "Likewise."

Before he could say anything else, Cordelia ran over to them and plowed the two boys into a giant bear hug.

"Eli! Matt!" She pulled away, taking a good look at both of them. "Wow. Just wow. At first I couldn't recognise you. But hey, how long has it been? Five? Seven?"

"Eight," Ayagi corrected from behind her.

"Oh… oh!" Matteo smiled, his whole face lighting up as he looked at Cordelia. "Delly! It's been a while. You— you changed a lot, huh?"

"Yes, she really has," Elian agreed, a grin overtaking his face, "haven't you, Dells?"

Cordelia shot him a death glare. If looks could kill, Elian would already be dead. "Don't. Call. Me. Dells," she hissed. "It's _Corey._ If you insist, Dell, or Delly. If you think that's too casual, then Cordelia would suffice."

"Cordelia is such a stiff name," he replied. "Fine, I'll just call you Delly." Then he noticed Soreas standing beside Sora, and smiled at him. "Hello, Soreas. I'm Elian."

"Yes, I know," he said, a knowing smile on his face. "Good to see you, Elian and Matt."

Realising he hadn't introduced himself to Sora yet, Matteo stepped forward and shook her hand. "Hello, I'm Matteo. Everyone calls me Matt. I've heard all about you."

 _I've heard all about you._ Sora tensed. "I guess everyone's been talking about… the Tribunal."

To her surprise, Matteo looked bewildered for a moment, before nodding his head. "Yeah, I guess that too, but mostly because Elian talks a lot about you, you know?" He grinned at her.

Sora was saved from having to answer by Ayagi, who told them to settle down as dinner was getting cold. After she greeted Matteo's parents and Elian's parents— Lorius and Raeiana Fellers, fellow members of the Black Swan. Raeiana gave her a secret smile as she shook her hand, and Sora returned it back tentatively.

Sora sat between Soreas and Ayagi, trying not to sit anywhere close to Elian, but as she settled into her seat, she realised that may be a bad decision after all. Now, she was sitting directly opposite Elian. The moment she raised her eyes from her plate, their eyes would lock, and he would smile at her.

She didn't understand why he was being so nice to her. If he was mean to her like the Shade or Cordelia, it would've been easier. Instead, he just left her confused and shy.

Subconsciously, she realised that she hadn't touched her food yet. So she pierced the stalk of the umber leaf with her fork and forced it down her throat. While the others talked, chatting idly, she felt her mind spin and spin and spin until she almost felt dizzy, out of breath. She could just blank out for the whole dinner until they were all done.

And so she did.

By the time the gnomes were clearing their plates off the table, she and Soreas were struggling to stifle their yawns.

"They've had a long day," Ayagi said. "I just need to take their measurements for their new clothes, and then they can rest."

"What a shame," Elian said. At the sound of his voice, Sora looked at him. He held her gaze steadily. "Sora's clothes look really nice on her."

She looked away.

Raeiana coughed, covering her mouth with her hand, and Sora almost glared at her.

"Actually, those aren't her clothes," Cordelia started hesitantly. "They're mine. Well, the jeans, at least. Sora doesn't dig human clothes. _I_ do."

"Actually," Matteo said slowly. "We didn't know that. You didn't _dig_ human clothes back then."

Cordelia thought for a moment before saying firmly, "You're right— I didn't. But I do now." Then suddenly she frowned, her eyes widening a little, focused on something far off in the distance.

"What is it?" Soreas asked, evidently noticing her strange reaction too.

She shook her head. "Huh. I thought I saw something pass by the window, but I may be just imagining things." Her tone of voice made it clear that she didn't think she was just imagining things.

Everyone turned to stare at the window in front of them, but there was nothing discernible they could see in the growing darkness of the night. But Sora couldn't help but think there was _something._ A strange feeling wrapped around her, something she couldn't place her finger on. But it was there all the same, and it gave her both warmth and chills.

"By the way," Elian told Soreas with a smile, trying to change the subject, "you've been replaced."

"I'm sorry," Soreas said slowly, "what?"

Matteo shared a knowing grin with Elian. "Kael has a new best friend." Everyone, apart from Soreas, promptly started snickering, even Sevdaís and Cordelia.

Sora frowned, and so did Soreas. Kael. Kael was Soreas's best friend back in Foxfire, and they were utterly inseparable. Did Kael really forget about Soreas so quickly? Though Soreas and Kael were friends, Sora had never met Kael, until the day before she was sent to Exillium. All he had ever done before they met was to intimidate her. He just seemed so… distant, even when Soreas had insisted he was the most fun person he knew. But that was probably because he'd always acted as if Sora was as invisible as a Vanisher could get.

She thought of what he'd said during their first proper meeting.

 _For a girl like you, you don't seem much of a murderer to me. Then again, I've learned not to judge an elf by their appearance._

Kael didn't like her. Didn't trust her. Did he decide to ditch Soreas as his friend too, because of her?

"Relax," Elian told Soreas with a laugh, who had stiffened. "We're just joking. Kael misses you a whole lot. This person is just… a new prodigy. Pranked Dame Alina, too— it was _glorious,_ by the way. I won't get into the details. Just appeared out of nowhere, into Level Seven. _And_ she's a girl." At that, he smirked. "By the looks of it, he's quite smitten with her."

Without meaning to, Sora's breath hitched, and she felt her throat tighten.

Kael already liked someone else. But then again, why was she even surprised?

"It was beautiful." When Soreas gave Matteo a weird look, he added, "The prank, I mean."

"Stupendous," Elian fired back.

"Absolutely smashing."

"Awesome."

"Like me," Sevadis suddenly interjected, causing half of the table to burst out laughing, the other simply staring. Sora forced a smile onto her face. Cordelia put her head on the table, gently thumping it, groaning loudly.

Ayagi sighed. "You see? This is what I have to deal with every day. An overgrown man-child and a _seventeen-year-old_. I deserve an award for what I have to put up with."

Matteo laughed along with the others. "Okay, back to the new girl. I saw her and Kael sitting together and talking to each other during the Ultimate Splotching Championships. I could see his face from where I was— he seemed happier than he usually was, during our face-off— you know how Kael always is, kinda moody and all." Then he gestured at Elian and added, "I totally kicked his butt, by the way."

Elian scowled. "When do you not, though?"

"That's true, you know. Eli, you really need to work on your Splotching...you think Aya can help?" Corey interjected, seamlessly blending together with the rest.

Sora couldn't listen to this any longer. Squeezing her eyes shut, she drowned out any other conversation that pounded to be let in, and stared into empty space as she watched the others talk and laugh. Occasionally, she could feel some of the others' gazes flicker to her, but she ignored them, only wishing to be alone, in her own little bubble.

She couldn't wait for this dinner to end, for all the chatting to cease, for all the people to leave.

Before she knew it, it was time for Elian and Matteo and their respective families to go, and they bid goodbye to the both of them. Sora stood behind everyone, not saying a word as she watched them turn away to leave for the foyer. But suddenly, Elian turned around and looked straight at Sora.

Like she wasn't invisible after all.

Not like how Kael always made her out to be, when all she had always wanted was to be seen and noticed by him.

"Sora," he called, looking at her expectantly as he gestured her to come nearer. The others didn't seem to notice, too engaged in their own conversations and farewells.

Sora stifled her sigh. "Yes?" she asked, her voice faint as she stepped closer to Elian.

He remained silent for a while, his eyes lingering on the jade bracelet around her wrist. "Did Kael give you and Soreas that?"

She shook her head. "His mother did. It— it's for emergencies. If we need their help, we can just call them through these."

"Yeah, I know. I have something like that too," he told her, holding his own bracelet out for her to see. "And I'm giving it to you because I have too many of those. If you ever need me, I'm just one call away, okay?" When she didn't answer, he added, "If you don't want to use it, you can just call me through your Imparter."

"I don't have an Imparter." Her voice trembled. _Why is he doing this? Why does he care so much?_

"I think it'll come tomorrow with all the things Aya managed to retrieve from your house, so that's covered, don't worry," he assured her.

Nimbly, he detached the bracelet from his wrist and put it around hers, his fingers brushing against her hand, warmth spreading throughout her skin.

The clasp closed with a _click._

Sora stared at the new bracelet around her. _Elian's_ bracelet. She could feel the warmth of his hand on the bracelet, seeping through the skin of her wrist.

"Thank you," she told him, trying not to tear up. Did her voice sound thick, or did it sound hollow? She wasn't sure. Still, she forced the words out. "You're so kind." The simple, blunt words sounded silly, but she couldn't think to say anything else.

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. You're welcome, Sora. I hope we can keep in touch."

Sora nodded numbly, and before she could reply, he was already walking out of the door, his pealing laughter fading through the growing distance, her only connection to the glittering Lost Cities flickering, and then finally disappearing.

* * *

 **Yvonne: Hey! There's gonna be another one coming up soon, just...take it as an apology for the late updates this entire year, okay? So Sora and Soreas are settling into Huldlot now...what's going to happen between everyone? What happens next? Hm...who knows? ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

_You're playing my game now._

"Cordelia." Standing above her, Ayagi's brow was furrowed, as if lost in deep thought. As she set her book down, Corey raised an eyebrow towards the tall woman from her beanbag.

"Yeah, 'sup?"

"Come." Feeling apprehensive, Corey briskly followed the woman out of the library, and into the hallway, following her up the silver steps, past the fourth floor, up the fifth, where they were met with a dark, whirring, metal door. Her eyes widened.

Why are they here?

The control room—or the Bank, as the Black Swan called it— was a strict, no-access area, not even to the residents of Huldlot.

To the eyes of the ignorant, it seemed like a normal security room, camera feeds flashing across the multiple screens showing different parts of Huldlot. But if one knew what to find, they would realise that their wishes would be fulfilled.

It was a safe room, a bomb shelter, and held more secrets than a Councillor's cache. This, was where the Black Swan was most vulnerable, if fallen into the hands of the wrong people.

On one screen, it showed the elves busying themselves with fixing the piping system. On another screen, it showed Sora standing on her balcony, feeling the wind weave through her hair. Suddenly, she turned and hurried away, seemingly called by some unseen person. Soreas, most likely. Corey felt slightly guilty invading their privacy, but it was essential in ensuring their safety.

Their breached safety.

One screen was filled with nothing but buzzing static, near the bottom right-hand corner, and another somewhere in the second column. It was the cameras that showed the view outside the dining room and Soreas' room respectively. On the table stood an Imparter, with Mr Forkle's frowning face showing on the screen.

She understood. This wasn't a simple malfunction. Someone destroyed these cameras with intent. Something terribly wrong is going on.

"Holy shite," Corey whispered, sinking into the large spinning chair in front of the monitors, a hand clicking furiously at a mouse. "Fucking hell, how is this; how did this-" she quickly spun around, smacking the back of the chair on the table to meet Ayagi's gaze.

"How the fuck did this happen?"

"Language, sweetheart, and we're still checking."

With a hand pressed to his temple, Mr Forkle chimed in. "Our members here are currently checking the databases to determine if any information has been tampered with, but thankfully, nothing has appeared out of the ordinary yet."

"...sorry. Do the dwarves have anything on how the cameras were destroyed? Dammit, I know I should've done something last night…" Corey continued to hunch over the large table, trying to get any semblance of information, vainly hoping that it was a simple malfunction. Next to her, Ayagi pulled up a chair and sat down, rubbing both hands over her face.

It wasn't long before pieces started falling into place. The cameras were destroyed by darts to the screen, and the security feed simply showed a dark figure, too fast to capture. It was painful to admit it, but this person was _good_. While everyone was busy, with Huldlot being the liveliest in a long while, an intruder broke in to spy on them, but strangely enough, they didn't take anything incriminating, which meant—

"—That someone knew the Heks would be coming and came to spy on them. They're the target."

Aya nodded in agreement, moving to check on the large light-leaping crystal in the centre of the room, their last means of escape. In retrospect, placing the security room on the fifth level was a rather weird move on their part, but they couldn't bear throwing the dwarves out from the basement. Generations have been living there for centuries.

"From what we've gathered, yes. But what kind of person would take pains to break into here and take nothing?"

"Someone who deems the Heks more important than anything…" Corey felt her neck crack as she snapped up to look at Ayagi with wide eyes, a name popping into her head.

"I got someone. Name's Jin Heks, their sister. Renegade of the Black Swan, once called Ispia, now currently working under the enemy as a covert spy and assassin, highly ranked. Sora's identical twin. She's basically the deadlier version of her, the only person I can think of that fits the bill. Rasota's more concerned with information."

Mr Forkle nodded in assent, before suddenly starting in surprise. "Sora is currently calling ...me about the break-in. It seems that Soreas has found out, and informed her. She's very panicky at the moment."

Corey hoped that the Heks siblings would be okay. It's been a rollercoaster ride for the both them these days, hasn't it?

Humming noncommittedly, Aya took a while to process and think of a battle strategy, as Corey tried to look busy fixing the broken camera. From the control centre. She really tried.

"Here's the plan," Ayagi announced suddenly, making Corey jump up in her seat, hands smashing the keyboard. "Get Sora and Soreas, and meet me in my study in five. I'll brief all of you then. Remember-"

"Don't let them know that you know what's going on, and don't tell them who it is." Finished Corey with a roll of her eyes, as she jumped out of her seat to make her way back downstairs, nodding her goodbyes to Mr Forkle. "Aya, I've been doing this for nearly half of my life. I should know what's routine protocol."

"You better!" shouted Aya in response, as Corey locked the door behind her. She hoped that Sora would make the right decision.

She burst into the girl's room, hollering. "Sora!"

The aforementioned girl's head snapped up at her sudden appearance, but she didn't seem that shocked. Not that Corey was surprised-she practically stampeded down the stairs, bare feet slapping against the carpeted floor loudly.

Sora was definitely pissed that Corey burst in without knocking, but didn't say anything as she followed Corey down.

"Aya's got something important to tell us and she looks hella worried. Did something happen?"

Sora's eyes widened comically, as she frantically waved her hands around.

"No— we couldn't— we didn't— what happened—" She blabbered, causing Corey to stop her in the middle of the stairwell.

"Hey, hey! It's okay. No one's blaming you. It's just..." She couldn't seem to find the right words to say.

How about; _Hey, it's your homicidal sister who knows that you're both here and broke into your brother's room to spy on you two! Your lives are in danger again!_

 _Yeah right._

Finally, she settled with, "Something's wrong. It's supposed to be a safe place here, and we need to protect everyone here."

Sora didn't look entirely convinced, but her shoulders relaxed by a fraction. "Okay. Lead the way."

And Corey did.

But only to stop in her tracks, seeing Soreas in front of Ayagi's study, a shaky hand raised midair to knock.

"Soreas?" Sora called out, her voice quavering.

The Guster turned to face them, his usually stormy eyes wide and filled with fear. "Sora. Corey. What is going on?"

Corey wanted to reach out to reassure them, but all she could do was shake her head. Staring at their panicked faces, all she wanted to do was to tell them the truth right then and right there, but she knew it would give away her identity.

Her identity _must_ remain a secret.

"Ayagi's probably in there to tell us, I think we better go in." She swallowed back the hidden truth, and choose to only tell a small part, a safe part. The half-lie floated past her lips like air.

" _What is going on?"_ His voice was shaking.

She could only softly reply: "I don't know. I really don't."

"Let's find out."

* * *

"Last I checked, there was no mission for today," Avy commented as she watched her best friend climb through the windows of her own bedroom effortlessly. Her black outfit blended perfectly with the night sky outside, her eyes being the only dots of reflected light.

Jin smirked at her as she leapt from the windowsill to land soundlessly on the concrete floor, but knowing Jin for all this time, Avy immediately knew that something was wrong. Her smile looked forced, and her movements weren't as natural as usual.

She was trying to hide something.

Coming home from that terrible day at Exillium, she instantly noticed that her best friend was missing. And now here she was, hours later into the night, dressed in spying gear. Jin was a warrior, rarely ever was she to be sent on missions with objectives to spy on others, and that only served to increase Avy's suspicions.

"Well, my business is for myself to mind," Jin retorted, tossing back her hood and undoing her ponytail, letting her auburn hair cascade in soft waves.

Avy raised her eyebrows. "I suppose you meant to tell me to 'mind my own business'?" she asked, amused at her friend's choice of words. Jin wasn't exactly familiar with the grammar of the Enlightened Language. But Avy was, and she always made it a point to correct the younger Heks twin whenever possible.

"Yes, that's what I said, wasn't it?" Jin raised her eyebrows back at Avy playfully, daring her to correct her.

Normally, Avy would retort to such comments, but she was more concerned over the fact that her best friend had just gone on a mission that undoubtedly was not a mission for the Neverseen.

Plus, she hated it when people tried to change the subject, which Jin had just tried to do. But unlike the countless moments of Jin winning when they sparred, Avy wasn't going down as easily this time.

 _What was she hiding?_

"As much as I would love to continue this lovely conversation about your grammar usage, I only have four words: _don't change the subject."_

Jin whirled on her. "I wasn't trying to—"

Avy crossed her arms and stared at her coolly. " _Don't change the subject."_

"What the hell do you want— Ugh, fine, I went to try and find out something about the Black Swan from my siblings, okay?" Jin sighed in defeat, knowing she could never lie to Avy. She seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon, falling silent.

Avy thought that Jin had never looked so vulnerable as now.

Avy suddenly became concerned for her best friend, but before she could comment on it, Jin had pushed her out of her room, just like how Avy had done to her that very morning. Avy sighed as she stared at the wooden door that Jin had slammed in her face.

She knew what she meant. Jin had snuck into her brother's room once again. She did it rather frequently, just to see how he and their sister were doing, and to find out if they were doing anything that could put the Neverseen in danger at the same time.

Or was it more because of another reason?

Being in the Neverseen, everyone had things that they kept hidden in the deepest, darkest parts of their souls. Jin had one too. Hers was a past tremendously affiliated with the Black Swan.

The thing was, Jin had once been a member of the Black Swan.

It was one of Avy's first few missions. The Neverseen members were all trained to show no mercy or emotion during their missions, their minds solely focused on the aim of the mission and to accomplish it, and Avy was no different.

For her first four years in the Neverseen, it was simply non-stop torture, constantly training from dawn to dusk. After that, she had lessons to train her intelligence.

They taught her everything, from stealth to observation, to holding her own- then _winning_ \- in a fight. But the most important lesson taught Avy how to close off the guilt complex every elf was cursed with. She wasn't as lucky as Fintan, who got his own cache to lock up all the horrible things he'd done. But after all, he had once been a Councillor, sealing up memories in a cache and hiding from the cold hard truth, so he still treated himself like a Councillor. _That would be his tragic flaw_ , Avy thought, regarding Fintan's arrogance.

Avy was treated differently than other Neverseen members, not because she was only a child, but because of her status as the youngest member to be enlisted into the Neverseen, they worked hard to make her the perfect recruit. One who would help to destroy the humans and the Elven Council.

Avy remembered the utterly disgusting compassion and sympathy she used to have.

She was merely ten when she went on the mission to enlist Jin. And when she saw the look of betrayal and hurt reflecting in Jin's twin sister's eyes, and the sadness and pain in their brother's, she was ashamed to admit that she had felt immensely guilty about what she had done— to tear apart a family. Even though her own family had been torn apart and she knew how painful it could be, she had still torn apart another family herself.

For Jin to become part of the Neverseen, it was more than turning her back against her order— it meant that she had to betray her family.

Avy had left the other Neverseen members to work their magic on young Jin, and faced severe consequences when she returned early, having been unable to fulfil her duty properly.

She would remember that day forever. It wasn't just because of Jin. It was also because her punishment made her learn to close off her guilt complex once and for all.

But at that moment, Avy could only remember the two siblings of Jin's. Sora and Soreas Heks, ironically the lovely new Waywards she welcomed that day into Exillium.

She hadn't known what had happened to Jin's family after Jin left, but she could guess enough of it. Heartbroken, maybe. Traumatised for life, maybe. Closed everyone else off from themselves, probably. But again, she could only guess. Jin refused to talk about them— even to Avy, despite their seven, almost-eight-year-long friendship.

Avy only knew of the Heks family _legacy_. That was the only thing Jin ever talked about. The Heks was an enormous and vast family, and their ancestors were all Black Swan members. Although they were insignificant and took on simple roles like passing messages within the order or supplying resources for the other members, almost every family member had something to do with the Black Swan. The legacy was passed on for generations… until Jin broke off and turned against her own family.

Legacies were important, especially to the Neverseen.

The Heks would have immediately branded her as a traitor for the rest of eternity. It was like banishing someone from the Lost Cities.

For members of the vigilante society, Avy had expected Sora and Soreas Heks to be the perfect pair of siblings—as if a pair of elven boots, perfectly laced up and bejewelled. But now that Sora had proved that she was more than just a carrier of a legacy and got herself and her brother banished from the Lost Cities, it seemed like they weren't such goody-two-shoes after all.

However, watching their performance today, Avy felt herself questioning whether they were really members of the Black Swan, and she wondered how they could ever be related to Jin, the best female fighter here. Other than the bond of blood and their too-similar appearances, they had a severe lack of skills— unlike Jin.

Avy sighed, turning away from the door.

Regardless of whether they were Jin's family or not, Sora and Soreas Heks would pay for the pain they'd caused Jin to go through. They couldn't imagine how much hurt Jin went through, how much she suffered. Jin knew what others, including her supposedly wonderful twin sister, thought of her. And so did Avy.

She vowed to take her vengeance for her best friend.

The unbreakable friendship she had with Jin was a source of her pride, and no human bond could even come close to what the two shared.

 _And the new Waywards will see that._

Jin's sister's words rang in her mind as she headed outside.

 _You shouldn't have hurt me. Toyed with me. I'm not a person you can mess with. I let you mess with me once. I'm not going to let you do it again._

"Honey, you don't decide who I mess with," Avy murmured, amused by it all as she swung over the fence that served as a barrier and into the wild.

She was too lost in her thoughts for her own good, and luckily, muscle memory brought her to a specific oak tree every night, climbing it in an attempt to cleanse her thoughts.

 _By now, I might as well be an expert tree climber._ Avy thought to herself jokingly as she found _her_ tree and climbed it to the highest that she could reach.

This oak tree she loved so much rested on the edge of a rocky cliff, where she could look both far across the ocean and the night sky. But the best thing was how the path that led up to the cliff was well-hidden. Few knew of this spot, and fewer dared venture this far into the woods, especially so near to the main Neverseen headquarters. Not that normal elves knew about that.

Resting on the tree branch with her back against the trunk, Avy stared up at the starless night, where the night was just a smooth spread of darkness, void of any tiny sparks of hope and light. A new moon hung in the sky, signalling that her favourite time of the month had just begun.

Avy conjured up a ball of darkness at her fingertips to play around. It was no surprise she turned out to be a Shade.

Her heart was as dark as the night, as black as the umbra of a shadow.

Most elves found light comforting because it allowed them to see clearly, to feel the warmth of the sun on their skin. To them, the light was safety. That was what made Avy different from others. When no one could see her, in the peacefulness, the tranquillity of every night, she relaxed. She sought comfort in the night.

Darkness was an interesting thing. Elves and human alike feared it, for it represented the unknown, and no one liked an unforeseeable future. But Avy loved it. It was mysterious. It was dark, pitch so no one could see through it, and so it hid secrets.

Just like her.

Avy sighed as she recalled about the day that had just whirled past, of the three elves she met, with that disgusting spark of hope in their eyes, and the light in their hearts.

Yet, they still seemed different from the other elves she met before.

Behind that veil of kindness and compassion, she saw fear in the Terrakinetic and the want— no, the animalistic _need_ in the Hydrokinetic.

The three of them were similar. And that was what made her so fascinated. Especially their stealth and intelligence, similar to the members of her group, as well as that of the Black Swan.

Avy jumped off and looked out at the huge ocean which reminded her so much of the icy Hydrokinetic, ironically enough.

She had to confirm that they were still Black Swan members. She didn't want to think of the consequences that she would have to face if she failed.

The Neverseen was never kind towards failures.

She knew what she had to do to gain _his_ trust, and to finally take her revenge. Ideas and strategies started taking form, cold and calculating.

The enormous mirror in her room appeared in her mind, as if calling for her attention. _Looks like it's time to put that into good use._

Avy exclaimed boldly, hissing to the darkness, "Do you hear me? I am not going to lose this fight."

* * *

Through her panic, Sora heard the snap of fingers, and the door to the study instantly swung open. Cordelia's eyes flickered over to Sora's hesitating figure, then she averted her gaze again, switching to stare right ahead.

But when Sora followed her gaze, she didn't see Ayagi. She saw Verbouge, Ayagi's Black Swan form, her face hidden behind a dramatic masquerade mask, her hair dyed white blond and pulled into a long braid. She didn't look the slightest bit like the Emissary she knew. Even the way she sat behind her desk was completely different— slouching, her head tilted to the side as she fingered her mask, looking at Sora and Soreas questioningly.

"Yo, Verbouge!" Seeing the strange woman, it seemed as if Cordelia lighted up, raising her hand in a two-fingered salute. Sora tilted her head, confused. _How would Cordelia know a Black Swan member?_

When Verbouge spoke, she alternated between drawl and whisper, her voice deepened, a raspy sound that obscured any signs of Ayagi's voice. "Emissary Larayna is out for a meeting. She instructed me to brief the Heks siblings about the...situation."

Sora cleared her throat. "Can we talk in private, please?" she asked Verbouge and Cordelia, careful not to display any signs of nervousness as she waited for their reply. A looking was exchanged between Verbouge and Cordelia. How would they know each other?

Soreas looked at her, and his expression seemed to be asking her, _Do you want me inside too?_ Sora thought about it, then shook her head, flashing him an apologetic smile. An understanding look flashed across his face, and he nodded, encouraging her in.

"I would like to return to my room to rest first. Sora probably has something to ask you." The thing about Soreas was that he always knew what her boundaries were, and he never once overstepped them.

"Of course," said Verbouge after a moment's hesitation. "Sora, come in, please. Cordelia shut the door— and don't slam it behind you. Emissary Larayna does not like the damage you do to her door."

Cordelia shrugged and left, the door slamming shut behind her. Soreas had followed suit.

It was as if a spell had been broken by the door slam, and something in Verbouge seemed to melt back into Ayagi as she heaved a sigh, the kind where she seemed to be saying, _What do I do with her?_ and nodded at Sora, signalling for her to come closer.

"Hold on," said Sora, and produced a small vial from the inside pocket of her cape. She gulped down the sickly yellow liquid sloshing inside, choking as her hair turned black and her eyes teal. Soft bangs sprouted, sweeping across her forehead, and her skin flushed pink, freckles dotting her cheeks.

Verbouge stared at her from behind the mask, her crimson red lips curling up into a smile. "Well. I'd say that's quite the transformation."

"Yes, it is," agreed Sora, and her voice was now pitched an octave higher, her words spoken in a British accent. It was a disguise she had used since the beginning, when she first joined the Black Swan, a concoction Mr Forkle had given her, since her ability as a Polyglot could only disguise her voice. But now, having manifested as a Terrakinetic, she was wondering whether she should change up her disguise— it would probably give away her identity, though.

Her identity must remain a _himitsu._

"You can sit down there, Himitsu," Verbouge said softly, pointing at the pristine couch set in front of the desk, a cup of steaming hot tea resting gently on a low table. "I'll cut straight to the point. Someone broke into this house and entered Espiar's room. I suspect it was—"

"Ipsia."

Verbouge's eyes widened. "So you suspect too."

"I don't just suspect. I _know._ " Sora said simply, playing with the draping fabric of her plaid skirt. "My twin sister's codename for the Black Swan was Ispia. Derived from the Latin word _ispum_ , which means to condescend. That was my opinion of my sister at that time. But she never knew. I never told her."

"Why would you think of her as condescending?" asked Verbouge.

"Jin had always thought of herself as the superior one," Sora explained, thinking back to old memories and a sorrow-ridden past. "She had a tendency to correct whatever I do, as if she knew the difference from right and wrong. That was probably what led to her switch in sides.

"She probably came to gloat about how far she's gotten in comparison to us."

The little voice in her head screamed at her damning statements. _No! That's not why she joined them! She was just being Beguiled into joining!_

Another voice asserted firmly, _that can't be right. No matter how strong the Beguiler was, no one could be_ beguiled _into an evil person. She had been leaning toward the dark side all along. It was in her nature to do evil._

As her mind shifted through memories that she'd once shared with her twin sister, one memory struck her as most scandalous. One year when they were being tested for mid-years, Jin chose to read her alchemy Mentor's mind to find out what she was being tested for. And when Sora tried to stop her from going on this path, she laughed and called her a goody-two-shoes. The insult stung, but her actions were worse.

"Well, then it's no surprise that she turned against us," remarked Verbouge nonchalantly, like she was oblivious to how torn up Sora was feeling right then.

But all Sora said aloud was, "I strongly believe that she was the person that broke in last night."

After Ayagi had given her confirmation, Sora was deeply worried and troubled, but most importantly—

She felt fear.

 _As Sora staggered into the room, her mind was still reeling._

 _Someone tried to break into Soreas's room._ Someone tried to break into Soreas's room.

 _And whoever they were, only Estelle saw. But her view was limited, the intruder careful. She had to tell someone._

 _She contacted Mr Forkle in a daze, only shaking out of her stupor when his wrinkled face appeared._

" _Himitsu." Was his way of greeting. "They've already contacted me."_

" _How can this be?" Sora shouted into her Imparter, her heart palpitating too wildly to calm down. She took a deep breath, looked over her shoulder to check no one was eavesdropping, then turned back to the crystal screen, lowering her voice this time. "We kept it absolutely secret. No one could have known!"_

" _I feel as troubled as you are now, Himitsu," Mr Forkle sighed, "but it is most definitely true. Somehow, someone knew."_

 _Although she had already heard suspicions from Soreas, hearing it again, hearing_ confirmation _, Sora felt her world start to fade out and spin, so she carried herself shakily onto the cushions of a couch, clutching her Imparter like it was her only thing left in the universe. "Do," she rasped between her shaky breaths, "do we know who it might be?"_

 _When Mr Forkle shook his head no, her mind ran through all the possible culprits she could think of, then all of a sudden, she knew. She knew who it was. How could she not have realised earlier? Her hands curled into angry fists on her Imparter._

" _Himitsu?" Mr Forkle's concerned voice rang out over the Imparter's little speaker. "Are you alright?"_

" _Ispia," she said through gritted teeth. Speaking the words pained her, but she could be stronger than this. She_ was _stronger than this. "Ispia did this." She didn't miss the way Mr Forkle's eyes widened ever so slightly at Jin's former Black Swan codename._

 _How could it be anyone else? It could only be Jin. It was always Jin. Nobody else would come to visit them._

 _Nobody else looked almost exactly like Sora._

 _She was overcome with bittersweet emotion for a second, before she raised her head higher in the air and told Mr Forkle, "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."_

I'll make sure she doesn't even get to come close to my brother ever again.

 _Soreas had given away his future for her. She would make sure she returned it back to him._

" _Himitsu, I'd suggest you think before you—"_

 _Making up her mind, Sora killed the call and slipped her Imparter back into her cape pocket. She stood up from the couch—a little shakily, but she managed to fully regain her balance—and rushed toward where Ayagi should be._

 _She never made it past the door._

—

"I agree." This time, Verbouge leaned back in her armchair with crossed arms, her left hand placed on her chin. "Do you have any suggestions on improving Huldlot's security? No doubt, we would all have to be on higher alert after yesterday's events."

 _This is her fault._

"Dwarven guards are only trained in their sense of sight, Verbouge. I suggest that you hire goblin guards instead," Sora said. "They cannot differentiate Ispia from me, as we are near-identical twins. I'm confident that she was posing as me to successfully break into your house. And she would have been able to hurt Espiar, if not for the fact that he is able to differentiate both of us."

Even hidden by a mask, Verbouge looked positively pale. "If she brings the others in… if they hurt Corey… if they hurt Méfait… or-or Dölja…" Sora wasn't familiar with the code names, but she assumed that one of them was Sevadís.

 _But who is the other one?_ She wondered. It could be that one of the dwarves were working for the Black Swan, but a nagging feeling told her that wasn't it.

 _Méfait._ It was French for 'misdemeanour'. It was a strange code name for a Black Swan member, but Sora suspected that it was pure coincidence. No one working for evil would have their intentions so blandly spelt out.

 _Dölja._ Swedish for 'hide'. A classic Black Swan codename. Too classic. Her photographic memory pulled the name down into the depths of her mind, implanting it in her head. She had a feeling that it would be important, somehow.

As the name embedded itself into her mind, Sora bit her lip nervously. Despite not personally knowing these people, she was scared for them too. "I don't know. That's why we have to do something now, before something worse happens."

"Did you go and check to see if Espiar is faring well?" Verbouge asked. "I shall visit him later and give him my deepest apologies. I suspect we would need his mind too, to improve our defence."

"I'll go now," suggested Sora. "If that's okay?"

"Wait." Verbouge's slow words momentarily stopped Sora in her tracks. "Protect yourself. And please, protect _her_ for me. She's… a wild spirit."

Even with her gnawing worry, Sora nodded once. Cordelia was too unpredictable to keep herself safe. Given the choice, Sora would rather not do so, but she was only an innocent civilian. Sora's own pride refused to let her do so.

Verbouge then nodded, an indication for her to leave. Sora stood up, drained the cup of cooling jasmine tea and the potion to return her back to her original state, and rushed out of the room as fast as her feet could carry her. Soreas needed her now, more than ever.

* * *

As soon as she heard Sora confirm her suspicions, Corey quickly decided to figure out how she got in by herself. Making a run for the stairs which led back upstairs, she silently sprinted up the spiral staircase and back to her room. Upstairs, she quickly scanned her own implements of the house, and when nothing appeared to be damaged nor tampered with, she slammed the desk with a yell. Yes, she was mad and worried, but at the same time, frustration coursed through her veins.

She was trained to be better than this. She should be better than this. But she wasn't. She's let them down, _again_. Giving up wasn't an option, she couldn't give up now.

She… _couldn't._

There was a leak. No one, not even Jin Heks, would be able to break into Huldlot so seamlessly and effortlessly. Every single trap that she had laid, every single sensor that was hidden wasn't touched. No one would be able to exploit such weaknesses without inside help. But how did she managed to sneak in? How did she find a crack in Huldlot's impenetrable defence?

This was out of her league. Admitting defeat, Corey could only drop an email to a friend requesting assistance.

If the Black Swan was pulling out all the stops, why shouldn't she?

When nothing fruitful bloomed, she changed her plan to come thundering back down, slowing down as she approached Soreas' room, not wanting to make it seem to Soreas that she had been running.

Only after she had evened her breathing did Corey knock on the door and swing it open, walking into the bedroom. She hesitantly smiled at Soreas, who was sitting on his bed, resting after the ordeal outside Ayagi's study. He didn't return the smile back.

Well, her smile _had_ probably looked more like a grimace anyway.

"Are you… okay? We still need to go to Exillium tomorrow." she asked Soreas.

Soreas shrugged halfheartedly. "I'll probably go. Sora needs me."

"Or does she?" she retorted. "She seems like the type who knows how to take care of herself." _No kidding— she literally made the ground explode!_

"She's manifested a new ability that almost destroyed the entire oasis. I say she can't take care of herself, not with that in consideration. Don't you know the feeling of having an ability that requires optimal concentration and control? You're a Hydrokinetic. An untrained one at that," Soreas countered crossly, folding his arms across his chest and turning away from Corey.

Huffing at the insult, she pursed her lips _._ "Ya ain't gonna thank me for saving your sister?"

Soreas crossed his arms. "What's there to thank? Anyone could have stepped out to help. Don't get haughty just because you have an oh-so-powerful ability to boast about."

 _Oh no he didn't!_ She clenched her fists until crescent-shaped imprints appeared on the surface of her palms. He had no idea how much she has sacrificed, how much more she was planning to. Would he like a taste of that? But then she thought of Sora's grateful eyes silently thanking her through the slits of her Exillium mask, and relaxed slowly, releasing a shaky breath.

Soreas had obviously seen her display of anger, but either he chose to ignore it or he really was completely blind, because his face was completely straight, with no hint of a reaction.

Behind her, the door shifted, almost imperceptible.

Corey took in a deep breath and continued, cocking her head to the right with a scathing smirk on her face. "That's coming from an _oh-so-powerful_ Guster who couldn't use his powers to save his sister when she was stuck in that shadow maze. But considering the fact that you saved me from that Empath asshole, yeah sure, I'll give you that." Corey raised a single eyebrow at Soreas, who merely shrugged in response. "But you can't deny that you were shouting— or should I say _begging—_ the Coaches to let your sister go."

Soreas shuddered just thinking about the shadow maze. "Oh yeah, that Shade sure was horrible."

"No shit, Sherlock." Corey sighed, shaking her head in an exaggerated manner. "That girl has been there for way longer than I was, and she's _seriously_ powerful. The Coaches ask her to conduct the Dividings sometimes just to randomly traumatise people. You guys were just unlucky. By the way; don't you _ever_ dare trust a Shade, especially one that ends up in a place like Exillium."

 _Even if she'd tried acting nice by shadow-whispering to me and Sora in the healing tent yesterday._

Especially _if she tried acting nice,_ she chided herself. _That girl was definitely worthy to be suspicious of._

It was Soreas's turn to raise an eyebrow at her. "Says the girl who also ended up in Exillium. What'd you do, flood something, like how my sis conjured up a massive earthquake?"

Corey hesitated for a while, before shaking her head and telling him, "Nah, I just flunked the Foxfire Entrance Examinations."

Silence fell over them, and Soreas deadpanned, "What."

And that was the exact moment Sora decided to burst through the door, not looking out of breath in the slightest.

"Sora!" exclaimed Soreas, shocked at his sister's sudden entrance.

Calmly, Corey lifted her head to lock gazes with a pair of widened aquamarine eyes, both shocked and confused, and smiled at her. "Sweetheart, would you care to explain why you were eavesdropping?"

" _You're_ one to talk _,"_ Sora hissed through gritted teeth. Corey merely shrugged. _Well, I suppose she already knows I've been eavesdropping._ "Why didn't you tell me all this? Don't I deserve as much right to know as Soreas?"

Corey let out a disbelieving laugh. "Who the hell tells a stranger about their life story the _day_ after they met? No one." _No one should, no,_ could _be trusted. What if those two_ are _the ones we should be looking out for?_

She shook her head to clear her overactive imagination, and blinked at Sora, who was staring at her strangely.

"Did you even hear what I was talking about for the last minute?" she asked.

"Um..nope," Corey answered, absolutely deadpan as she stared blankly at her.

Sora rolled her eyes and said, "As I was _saying,_ we should find out more about the Shade. You know, get up close and personal with her and stuff."

For a moment, Corey was stunned. _Them?_ Spy on that _Shade?_

 _Brilliant._

Pretending to be shocked, she shouted, flailing her arms about."You do realise who we're talking 'bout here...right? Just _...why._ "

Soreas replied in all seriousness, "Of course. Her ability is rarely seen in the Lost Cities, and someone with such a good grip on her ability is even more of a rarity. By learning how she manages to control her ability, we can also apply her attics to our own training, improving our own control."

He sounded absolutely sure if himself, and if Corey didn't know otherwise, she would've been convinced. Behind him, Sora nodded, in a seemingly encouraging manner.

Plastering a grimace on her face, Corey muttered under her breath, just loudly enough for Sora and Soreas to hear. "Besides, I heard rumours that she's a real character. People say that she's been wreaking havoc since she was _nine_. They've reportedly seen her near the house of that Ruewen girl minutes before it burned down… "

She purposely trailed off, noticing that both Sora and Soreas are pointedly _not_ staring at her, but leaning very close.

"I didn't say anything."

"I didn't say you did," Soreas replied, extremely fixated on his bedpost.

Corey shook her head, secretly smiling to herself. No wonder they weren't part of the co-op team. These type of people were _much_ easier to manipulate. Her job was so much easier now, with them fired up, all ready to research about the Shade.

 _Time for the next part._

Clearing her throat, she continued, "Well, hopefully, y'all know not to mess with her now, right?"

Sora frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Feigning obliviousness, Corey asked, "Well, don't tell me I've been telling you all that about her and you _still_ want to investigate her? Seriously, what the fuck is _wrong_ with you people? Did she mess with your heads during your Dividing or something?" After spitting these harsh words at the Heks, she turned on her heel and flounced (yes, flounced) out of the open door, shutting it behind her with a loud slam. Only to crack open it again when muffled voices came streaming through the gaps of the door, the oiled hinges barely making a sound…

* * *

"So what do you think about… this?" That was Soreas's voice, and they were talking about her. And for once, thank goodness, they weren't speaking in some foreign language she couldn't understand. That got old fast.

"I don't trust her." Sora's voice came through crackled and muffled, but clear enough for Corey to hear. "She's just so fake."

 _Well, nothing new then. Wonder how Kael puts up with her. Oh wait— he doesn't._

"You call everyone fake after _she_ left."

"That's not true. Stop trying to put words in my mouth." A pause. "Are you saying I have no reason to worry about Cordelia?"

"She's just trying to help— a little too much— but she is. She's Ayagi's daughter, after all. Adoptive daughter, but still."

"She's _nothing_ like Ayagi. You wouldn't know. You haven't seen that look on her face yet. She's cold."

Cold? Corey tried hard to keep the snickers from pouring from her mouth. Sora clearly had the wrong idea of who she was. But then she held back a shudder as she thought about the implications. If Sora thought _Corey_ was cold, well...

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't keep an eye on the Shade. We _should._ But I don't trust Corey. You shouldn't as well. Take whatever she says with a pinch of salt."

Corey slotted her fingers into the slight gap between the door and the doorframe, trying to widen the opening to catch sight of them.

"You've changed." Soreas's voice was burdened with accusation, and even Corey flinched at his heavy tone. "You weren't like this before she left, and you weren't like this before you became the Black Swan's messenger."

Both of them shifted, and Corey finally saw Sora. Standing in the centre of the room, her face was shadowed, making it impossible to make out her facial expression.

Corey held her breath as she watched Sora turn away from Soreas and whisper, "Yes, I've changed. But there's no use crying about it. Don't you know that nothing gold can stay?"

 **A/N: Hey guys, this is Audrea, sorry once again for the late update! Anyways, tension is finally starting to rise and the three of them are getting more suspicious of one another. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**


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